<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>I was looking into applying to privates and I was wondering if American accepts the letter grade “D” in high school courses? I know that UCs and CSUs won’t consider me as an applicant because I got a D in one semester of Chemistry my sophomore year, which is a required course. Is American the same way, or will they accept the D, and mostly just look at my overall GPA?</p>
<p>Thanks for any feedback :)</p>
<p>I think in general private institutions don’t have those kind of hard and fast rules, but will take your entire academic performance into account. Of course such a low grade will stand out on your transcript, so if there’s some way to explain it (illness, taking a course that was too advanced based on bad advice, a particularly bad match between you and the teacher, etc.) it would be helpful if your guidance counselor’s recommendation addressed the issue. But now that I think about it, won’t your transcript only show your final grade in the class, anyway? In any case, since the D came in your sophomore year, it will have less impact than if it was earned more recently. I also think a D will be less harmful if it is in a course that is unrelated to any intended major that is mentioned in your application–e.g., a D in a chem class may not be very damaging to a prospective theater major, but is likely to raise eyebrows for an pre-med major.</p>
<p>What Momma J said. AU has a very holistic approach to the application process: so while your application isn’t dead on arrival like at some other schools, you are going to have to explain why it’s such a massive deviation from your other grades. </p>
<p>Good luck with your college search :)</p>
<p>Was your final grade a D or was that just the semester? What was your final grade?</p>
<p>If you have A’s in every single one of your classes, then I wouldn’t worry too much. I would just make a mention that science wasn’t my strong suit.</p>
<p>I had a D in my Latin course once. The next quarter I had an A… so there is no D on my transcripts at all, because the final grade was higher than a D. (I think it was a C+… Latin wasn’t my strong suit. XD)</p>
<p>Really, I think that as long as your other classes are good and your final grade for the class was higher, then you shouldn’t worry too much.</p>