<p>I'm a HS senior. I had a scheduling conflict this semester, and my counselor told me I had to take an online class. I looked at the list of online AP courses, and gleefully picked Computer Science, even though I have no outside experience in Java, programming, or anything. (That was my first mistake, I know, but not the problem I'm concerned with right now.)</p>
<p>Anyway, there's a little over a month left in the course and I have a 71. I got too cocky a few weeks in and didn't spend nearly enough time on the material. I got several zeroes along the way. Now that I've missed so much foundational material, the assignments I'm supposed to do right now make no sense to me. </p>
<p>I've tried reading and re-reading my online textbook, but it just turns into mush when it uses the big fancy technical terms instead of plain language. Plus, it has asides that use words like "obviously" and phrases like "of course," and it makes me feel bad when I don't think whatever they said was that obvious, or even understandable.</p>
<p>I then checked out a Java For Dummies book from the library, but it doesn't go in depth enough for my class.</p>
<p>So I have two options right now:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Study and read and work my butt off every day for the rest of the semester to get a C or possibly a B. This would be at the expense of my other two AP classes, my extracurriculars, upcoming SAT subject tests, and my time with friends.</p></li>
<li><p>Do the assignments from here on out with my limited understanding and possibly fail.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My question for you guys: For elite college admissions (top 20), how bad is it for a student to have an F in an AP elective when all other classes (including 11 other APs) are A's?</p>