Dropping an AP Class?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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Hi everyone!

I’m currently a junior and I was wondering how bad it would look if I dropped an AP class right now (we have about 2 more months of the semester). I have to go talk to my GC but I’m pretty sure it would show up as a W with my grade (I have a C+ unfortunately).

I’m struggling with AP Calc AB and I don’t particularly enjoy the material, but I do my best and I study extremely hard, and even got a tutor. When I originally thought of dropping it, I had a B- (teetering on C+), when you could drop it without a W on your transcript, but I recently took a test and it dropped my grade 2%, it’s mainly due to me being absent most of the time because of a recent injury I had, but then again I don’t really click with the material either :frowning: I’ve been trying really hard throughout the year to understand the material and do well, but I just don’t do well on the tests and quizzes. My teacher’s only suggestion is to study more, and sometimes I study for a solid 6 hours before the test, and I still manage to do poorly.

I’m taking 5 AP’s currently, and I was hoping to maybe take Calculus Honors online to substitute the calc requirement most colleges want to see? Will the drop look particularly bad? We don’t have many tests or quizzes left in the semester, I think one test and two quizzes left, and the grade change isn’t particularly generous, only 3% if you get a 4, 5% if you get a 5 and I don’t want to potentially lower my C, or get a low B in the long run.

I’m planning on doing something involving law or journalism in my future, and I want to go to UCLA, USC, UCSD, mainly the UC’s.

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Also random note: I realize I took on way too many classes, the other ones I do really enjoy though. Even in some of my other classes where I do have B’s they are B+'s that I know I could bring up with either the AP exam or just the final. Math I’m not too sure about because historically, I’ve done poorly in math for the past few years. I’ve only gotten one A, while managing to get 2 B’s and a C. The only blemishes on my transcript are those grades unfortunately, so I’m not too sure if I am able to bring my grade up at all, or even pull a miracle because I haven’t been too lucky in the math department

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If it were me, I would stick with it. If I was an admissions officer I would give a student more props for sticking with the class and earning a B- than seeing them drop the class about a month before the end of the semester. It sounds like you have the capability to bring your grade up to the B+ range or so, and though it may not be easy, if you stay vigiliant it will happen. Here’s some things you can do:

  1. Talk with your teacher. If your teacher actually pays attention to the perforamce of his/her students, he/she will notice what concepts you are struggling with, and they can help you formulate a plan to rock the final exam for the semester, and boost your grade.

  2. Talk with friends! If you have any friendly classmates who are willing to set aside time to help you, that can also be a major benefit. The one AP class that I am struggling with right now is AP Computer Science A, but I have multiple friends with me in the class, and we all help each other on issues that we may not be able to see with our own eyes. However, we are stronger as a team than as individuals, and we make each other better.

  3. Practice practice practice! Of course this sounds old school, but honestly, repetition makes things stick in your head. However, if your studying something such as a foreign langauge, it will not help you if you study all of that material for 3 hours in one night, compared to 6 nights of 30 minute sessions. Yes, repetition is key, but carrying out the subject over a longer duration of time will help you keep the subject in your brain longer.

4a) Don’t be absent! You have said that you don’t feel as if you click with the material very well, and that is definitely a reason why you may be struggling with the class, but another reason you’re probably struggling is because every second that you are not listening to the teacher and gaining knowledge on the subject, the classroom keeps on getting smarter while you’re getting left behind. This is why I believe that you are not clicking with the class.

4b) As we all know with AP classes, the class does not revolve around the slowest students, there are ridiculous amounts of curriculum that have to be covered by the teachers, and they cannot wait around for students who are absent/not paying attention because that would be unfair to the other students in the classrooom. Also, this is not to say that you can control absences, if the injury is substantial then it would definitely make much more sense to take time to recover rather than getting right back into the swing of school. However, just remember that when you are not in the classroom, the curriculum will start looking more and more foreign, as every day that you are not in the classroom listening to the teacher, your understanding of the curriculum will gradually diminish, up until the point to where you don’t understand anything that’s going on anymore in the classroom.

I hope this helps, I urge you to stay vigilant, and this will all pass soon! And if for any reason you do decide to drop the class (or do stay in the class but get a bad grade), don’t beat yourself about it! Life goes on, and your life’s work will not be determined by the grade you got in a calculus class :slight_smile: