<p>Yeh maybe you guys have read it on the 'my chances' threads
But I screwed up on my english final and got a 0</p>
<p>I read the wrong book and was forced to take a test on one I didnt read</p>
<p>So yeh...</p>
<p>95 95 95, first 3 six weeks.. 0 final</p>
<p>=71</p>
<p>Any idea?</p>
<p>Also should I maybe include a letter in my MIT Midyear report explaining what happend?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>I do admissions at Caltech and so will of course will defer Ben J. on this, but I would definitely like to see a letter in this situation, preferably signed by the teacher to indicate that what you say is true. Then the effect of the bad grade would be mitigated.</p>
<p>Thankyou so much..</p>
<p>I'll ask my English Teacher if she can write me one.. She'll be incredibly mad because I read the wrong book.. But hopefully she'll do it</p>
<p>Actually.. What if she refuses to write it?</p>
<p>Is there any other way?</p>
<p>Perhaps I'll write the letter and explain the situation to my GC, and let him Sign it?</p>
<p>I dont know.. I just know this 71 will break me if I dont do something</p>
<p>how did u get a 0?</p>
<p>Well I mistook the book I was supposed to read with a Band that I listen to</p>
<p>Book - A lesson before dying
Band - As I lay dying.</p>
<p>Stupid me</p>
<p>So My final was over a book I didnt read..
Sucks though because I wrote 3 pages over it.. But still got a 0..
I wasted a perfectly nice 1hr and 30 mins.
:(</p>
<p>no i mean like what did you do on the test?</p>
<p>Edit:</p>
<p>oo ouch</p>
<p>Just a book report over the book..
Discussing what happend and the significance of certain parts of the book.
Im not sure.. I just sat back in my chair for 20 mins.. thought about what I could write .. and just went with it.. discussing random archetypes and the significance of the book..</p>
<p>Pretty bad lol</p>
<p>If she refuses to write or sign a letter, just ask her for documentation of the grade breakdown (which many schools require teachers to provide on request) and ask a GC to sign it. My thinking is just that if you get a 71 with no further explanation, then it looks pretty bad -- but if it's clear that it was only one, very expensive, fluke -- a single day's mistake -- then it will be easier to overlook if admissions committees are so inclined.</p>
<p>but in the end, i think it will hurt you a bit since it'll also lower ur overall gpa</p>
<p>Ben, you are truly a life saver
Thanks so much..</p>
<p>yeh I figured my 71 would destroy any chance I have at the elite schools.</p>
<p>If I do provide the documentation and I have a letter attached with my Midyear Report...</p>
<p>Will the 71 still ruin my chances?</p>
<p>Edit:</p>
<p>True.. But I'm just like whatever now.. Im still one of the top kids in my class and I'm a URM hispanic, low-income..</p>
<p>Everyone else above me are rich and spoiled.
It's ok......... I hope</p>
<p>No. If someone was a strong candidate for Caltech, and then we found out that they got a 71 on English with a reason like yours, we wouldn't change our mind. And if it's true for us, I imagine your chances are also not shot at other good places. : ) Don't give up, you're still in the running.</p>
<p>Thanks!
I'm just happy I passed... failing would have been beyond horrible</p>
<p>Now all I have to do is pray and hope she'll write the letter... She seemd pretty angry.. Funny thing is she was one of the people who wrote a Recommendation for me.</p>
<p>That's a bummer, but I sympathize. I got a 67 today on my insane ap lit final covering Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello so I'm probably going to have my first B ever (impossible to say for sure at this point because english teachers at my school use some dark magical process to arbitrarily determine their grade weighting policies...) Over half the questions were basically Who said [insert vague quote from a minor character here]? I read and understood the plays, but she can't expect us to have all three works memorized; such BS....</p>
<p>Yeh, the irony in senior finals.
Sometimes luck just isnt in your favor.. though im hoping it will be during admission decisions ;)</p>
<p>Man I feel for you... I'm trying so hard in despite of everything going on in my life to get through finals week, and it only keeps getting worse, and I'm just trying to make it through without having a heart attack.</p>
<p>Get your teacher or your guidance counselor to explain, definitely. They may think worse of you because you made the mistake, but it's important for universities to know it was just one mistake.</p>
<p>Sometimes, one mistake can cost you everything... it may not even be your own mistake, but at the end of the day, that one mistake can lose you everything.</p>
<p>Don't let it.</p>
<p>Olo, I love you</p>
<p>Haha thanks man... I'll defintely do that</p>
<p>I just can't wait for that day when I'll finally know where I'm going..</p>
<p>Goodluck to all!
Peace</p>
<p>I won't add anything to the actually helpful comments in this thread, but my first reaction upon reading the title of this thread was "Wait, 71 is a C-?"</p>
<p>If you get into MIT and decide to attend, rest assured that a 71 will probably never again be a C-. :) In fact, I know of MIT classes where a 71% would be an A!</p>
<p>lol yeh so very true</p>
<p>MIT sounds incredibly exciting.. the work load sounds so intense..</p>
<p>Hey, at least your school doesn't send your a letter asking you to please pack your bags! My school lets your get either one D or two C-'s, and then you recieve a letter that tells your to get the heck out of the school(you can appeal, and most people stay, but on academic probation).</p>