<p>So I have a huge problem. The first semester of Junior year just finished and my gpa was bad. I had A's in AP Gov and Advanced (not AP) Chemistry. I had B's in AP English, APUSH, and Spanish 3, but I had C's in Advanced (not AP) Trig and AP Physics 1. My gpa before this year was 3.78 unweighted with 2 AP courses so far. I'm stressed beyond belief and Physics is the most useless class I have this year and it takes the most amount of work. It's not that I don't do the work, it's just hard, and my other classes don't help either considering their load (I have about 3.5 hours of work a night). Should I drop Physics in order to preform better in my other classes? My goal schools are Illinois and Wisconsin (Illinois resident but with a lot of Wisconsin alum) and I want to know what they would rather see; me do well in a slightly lighter schedule, or continue to barely get by. Any advice would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Also, if I may have just screwed my chances of those schools, regardless of what I do next, feel free to let me know. It'll help make my decision easier. My school though does have unique advanced academic program that I am in. It is regarded as one of the best in the state, so if there may be any compensation because of that, let me know as well.</p>
<p>If you were my child I would encourage you to visit with your academic dean/advisor. If your school offers a “unique advanced academic program” they are probably used to helping their students navigate expectations and workload. They should also be able to provide you with data from previously accepted students from your school. Opinions from a message board is one thing, asking for help from the correct professionals is another. You’ve done the former and I suggest you also do the latter.</p>
<p>Lastly, I think you’ll receive better advice if you share what your intended major is to the message board.</p>
<p>P.S. I would also tell you to take the ACT ASAP. Both of my children took it early in their junior year. Knowing where you need to focus your ACT prep will decrease your workload and test-anxiety for the PSAE. Good luck!</p>
<p>@88jm19 Thanks! My intended major is going to be in some field of Business or Marketing, I’m pretty positive about that. I also plan on taking the ACT in about a month. </p>
<p>@Stadelman You know you need to focus on your GPA and work on a strong ACT score. CoB also likes to see service and leadership, so make sure you have things you can list on your application. I would also suggest you take care when selecting your courses for senior year. Course rigor is important. They frown upon students who ‘slack off’. Late arrival, early dismissal, and a bunch of blow-off classes will be negatively viewed. Good luck!</p>
<p>My son had a C and a C+ first quarter, and got accepted at his top choice. I’m not sure you should worry too much, however, that much science might not be necessary if you are applying for business anyway.</p>
<p>@rhandco Yeah, I understand one C in a very rigorous course isn’t the end of all my goals, but as I said it’s forcing me to take time away from other classes that I could really improve on. My GPA this semester was a 3.0 so I need to do better under a more reasonable schedule in order to still get in to Wisconsin or Illinois. I also had a C in my Adv. Trigonometry. If you don’t mind, what was your son’s first choice? </p>