Hi Everyone,
I urged my daughter to take AP Calculus because she applied to the UC’s as an Environmental Science major. She has been struggling with math since they lost a year due to the Covid lock down. Prior to that she was a solid “A” in every math class. Now, she’s tanking in AP Calculus and crying and having an anxiety attack. She has a 78, but doesn’t feel confident she can do well on the final. Early in the semester I asked if she could drop the class, but her counselor said it was too late. I was going to make a huge issue out of it, because they have allowed others to drop past the deadline, but we stupidly decided to keep trying. I could try again, and this time go through the principal, but I need to know if it looks worse to drop it and have to notify the UC’s she dropped, or try to eek out a B in the class with the possibility of a C. If she does drop, there is a full year of Calculus at our local community college that she could take. She’s worked so hard for so long, only for it all to be ruined by AP Calculus.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
TIA
I am sorry for the situation. Do you think if some tutoring can help her pull her grade?
Thank you…It makes me sad because I feel like it’s my fault. We have had her in tutoring all semester, but she says she has a bad foundation and math is all about the foundation.
For the UC’s specifically, a C or higher grade in her Senior year classes is a requirement to maintain any provisional admission. That said, Senior grades are not considered in the UC application review and if she thinks she can pull out at least a C, I would continue with the course and continue the tutoring. If she feels you she cannot get at a C in the class, then I would consider dropping the course. Is there a non-AP option?
Dropping the course will not have as much impact on an Environmental Science major vs. an Engineering major. If she is struggling with AP Calculus, a community college course will be just as tough with the material presented in a shorter time frame.
For all the UC’s (except UCB and UCLA), Seniors need to maintain a 3.0 weighted UC GPA with no D’s or F’s to keep their provisional admission. For UCLA/UCB, an unweighted GPA of 3.0 with no D’s or F’s will maintain their provisional admission.
Having exposure to Calculus in HS, will make taking the Calculus course(s) at any UC much easier for her major.
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I’m taking AP Calc right now too. I’m not doing great either, and my final is coming up, and I could also end up with a B or C. That doesn’t mean my academic journey is somehow “ruined.” Like your daughter, I chose a hard class and I’m having a hard time in that class. That’s okay. Maybe you shouldn’t have pushed her to take it, but that’s in the past.
I don’t know much about the UC system admissions process, but I do know the importance of not taking grades too seriously. Do your daughter a favor and make sure she doesn’t think this “ruins” anything or invalidates any of the hard work she’s done and will continue to do.
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I’m sorry she is going through so much. It’s painful to see a child struggle though a class and lose their confidence because of it, our child also had many tearful nights because of Calculus. I’m not sure but I would think a B or C in a harder AP class may be better than getting an A in an easier gen math class- but I have no idea how the grading system at your school works. I know at my kids school- calculus is very tough, no grade inflation (no extra credit, no grades on homework, it’s really taught like a college class and only based on test grades and grades from practice AP exams- grades in class were not great). Is there after school math tutoring from the math honor society at your school or any local tutors? I know from some of the admissions webinars we attended for stem majors like engineering such as USC strongly recommended to take Calculus for applying but not sure how schools view regarding the level of math they would want for environmental science. Sending my thoughts to you as you go through this process and have to make a hard decision.
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It depends on the college. I would not drop personally. Many colleges do not take senior grades into consideration and for those, it won’t matter. For colleges that do, a good AP score can counter that. Plus, she is applying for environmental sciences, not engineering or math.
Raising a stink when your kid is struggling to get a pass might do her more harm long term if she needs LORs and such.
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Agree. In general, some struggle and addressing deficits now is better than waiting til next year. Learning strategies to deal with adversity, and how to get help, will serve her in the future.
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My older child had a C is semester 1 in AP Calc B/C because of application stress, the applications are stressful time and that could be another reason your child is not able to give enough time to study this subject.
We offered him tuition help and he refused it, was very adamant that he will work harder and recover.
Since he was so adamant then we told him that he needs to revise his notes for this subject on the same day for better retention and attend all office hours offered by the school where teacher is available to help you 1:1. He was able to change a C to a B.
So don’t panic, let applications get over, do your best and offer her the required help.
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