I currently have an F in my AP Calculus AB class. Hopefully, I can raise it to a D. Will I get rescinded? What must I do? I already contacted the admissions for Miami University and they basically said to just try my best… The university will do a review after transcripts are sent in and decide whether I will get rescinded or not. I plan on going to either Miami University in Ohio, University of Washington, Ohio State, Michigan State, or the University of Arizona. I know that’s really broad, but I would like some answers/advice. Thank you!
My S is in the same situation but taking AP Calc BC. Do you have enough math credits and total high school credits to graduate? How are your grades in other subjects ? S did contact one of his top choices to ask what they would like to see him do and they preferred he stayed with the course even if he gets an F. The response will vary by each university. For now he has decided not to contact any more as he doesn’t fee lit should impact his admission but I asked him to check each top choice out anonymously (he identified himself for the one he contacted already).
What advice are you being given by your counselor and teacher? Is your teacher available for extra tutoring or are you feeling it is over your head? Best of luck and hope it all works out.
Try to get that D with all you can. Talk to your teacher and ask for extra work to do or something to get back on track. It is much less likely for them to rescind if you don’t fail the class. If you ultimately do, things might get tough. I doubt every single one of your schools is going to rescind your admission, specially if you try to make it right and commit to take the class again during the summer or something. But you might lose your top choices and end up with very few choices. Definitely talk to your counselor for advice and help.
Good luck!
I’m sure you’re aware that Miami is a pretty selective and rigorous school. This might seem like a tough situation, but I think being frank with your teacher and counselor will only help you. They are there to help you through obstacles just like this one. If you show strong resolve and problem-solving skills by improving your grade through hard work and cooperation with your instructors, and you communicate that very sentiment to your schools, they will view it as a strength of yours rather than a weakness.
You have time! Right the ship! Good luck!
Can you drop down to a “regular” (non AP) calculus class?
Has that F been brought on by senioritis or because you work hard but understand nothing?
Get a tutor, go see the teacher, meet with them every day if need be, but get that grade to a D!
You WILL get rescinded for an F.
Thanks for all the responses. I have A’s in the rest of my classes. One B in AP Economics. I can assure you that I am not failing calc because of “senioritis”. I just do not seem to do well on the tests. The problems are nothing like the ones we do for homework or during teaching lessons. I have an extra credit project and will definitely be taking the final to raise my grade to at least a D. And no. I cannot drop the class as everyone I have talked to said it would make things worse. What are my options if I do in fact get rescinded? Community college? Asking the colleges I did not commit to accept me? I will be so disappointed if one grade will be the reason why I could not get into college… Once again, thank you for helping me out. I really appreciate it.
if you drop the course and take another one, will the grade be replaced by the grade in the new course? (Any easy class if “regular” Calculus is not available). Ask your guidance counselor. People will have opinions, your guidance counselor will have facts. If the new course’s grade won’t replace the AP Calc grade then yes you’re better off staying in the class since your F would “appear”.
Make an appointment TODAY to get a tutor.
Where did you intend to enroll?
But yes, one F is sufficient to be rescinded.
You are not alone in your struggle with this class. Get a tutor and plan on spending a lot of time practicing problems for the rest of the semester. Most AP classes spend time on covering all the material and then begin reviewing for the AP exam 3-5 weeks before the exam. Talk with your teacher to find out when that will start. Having your tutor lined up to work through that review with you may make the difference. Many schools offer free or inexpensive tutoring. Check with your GC for a list of tutors. You CAN turn this around! I cannot give credit to the source of this quote but it fits “You’ve got what it takes, but it’s going to take all you’ve got.”
Have you gone to extra help?
Viewed videos online? I’m not a fan of Khan Academy; I find them too dry. But try educreations.com, or teachertube.com . Both have videos made by teachers, maybe there’s something there that can help. And ask around here- lots of other kids taking Calc, I’m sure some of their teachers record videos. My students (sorry, I haven’t taught Calc since 2000) LOVE the ones I make for Geometry and Algebra.
It’s too late in the school year to drop now. It’s nearly the end of March. In my Ds high school, if you drop down after a the drop deadline, your current grade follows you. How long have you had an F going? IMO you maybe should have taken the bull by the horns a few months ago when your grade was starting to suffer: tutors, going to your teacher during office hours or before/after school, talking to your GC. F’s just don’t happen instantly; it’s an aggregate of a semester’s worth of work and not understanding the material at hand.
If you fail, you WILL have to explain yourself to the college you will be attending. Usually it’s in the form of a written letter.
Use this as a learning opportunity…(Ha!) So far you have been able to do well in your classes with the normal (to you ) amount of work. This one is a challenge…so you are going to have to change the way you study.
- Go to your teacher asap and talk to them. Ask them what successful students do to study? Talk to them about how you think you know the info but the questions seem to be different on the tests. To me that means you don’t really understand what is going on…but you can get a book of extra study questions and do more and more problems?
- Get a tutor. Ask your teacher for a recommendation
- Every time your teacher has office hours, go to them. Every time.
Start from NOW and start working on improving.
If you can’t drop the class then STUDY! I was in the same situation. I did great the first half of Calc AB but failed the second half and I got a C. I started out with a D in Calc BC but I raised it slowly to a C right now. I think I can nail a B if I study more. Study and practice A LOT! Calculus is hard but when you get it you get it. It may even just snap in your head during a lecture but only if you study! Raise it up to, at least, a D but go for a C.
@myos1634 - Please stop telling this student he will definitely get rescinded! It depends on the university. My S is in the same situation with AP Calc BC - he was specifically told by one of the universities he contacted that they preferred he stay the course and learn the material even it meant getting an F. It also depends on how many math credits this student has altogether and if the rest of the grades are fine that shows that the student is not just sloughing off. It does not ‘fix’ or prove anything to the school by dropping down a level and re-taking the material at an easier level. The student will face difficult courses in college and this is good practice for getting through that type of situation. Also if the tests are really difficult it’s likely because the teacher is grading them hard to prepare for the AP test - so getting a good score on the AP test would also show mastery of the subject.
Who is “everyone”? Your GC? Then believable. Your friends? They have no clue, confident as they sound of their answers. Also check with the colleges you are considering.
As pointed out there are lots of online resources to learn more. There are also books like the “Calculus Problem Solver” that has thousands of worked problems matching the chapters in many popular calculus books.
To take a stab at what’s going on , you may be confusing familiarity with understanding. A test should not look like the homework with just a few numbers changed. A good test should check to see if you can apply the concepts you have learned. Nor should it look like the examples in class; again those illustrate the concept, the test checks to see if you understand the concept. What you are going thru is actually common. Most classes are about regurgitating facts and tying them up nicely but not math or a well-taught science class. Not that you have time now, but at some point this summer you might want to read the book “Make it Stick” which is about the latest research in how to learn.
To add a bit reply more to “The problems are nothing like the ones we do for homework”. This is actually pretty important for you to understand or it may dog you thru college. If you really are mystified by “where did that come from?” then college is going to be tough.
So let me give you a challenge. Take the most recent test from this class. Sit down with a friend of yours who is doing ok in the class and ask them for some help. Or the teacher if you have the courage. Ask them to help you see which homework problems that cover the same concepts needed to answer the test questions (not the whole test, maybe pick a few questions).
Because one of two things seems true. The teacher talks in class and assigns homework that covers concepts A, B, C, then surprising you by expecting you to know the totally different concepts X, Y, Z on the tests. Where did those come from? Or, alternate explanation here, the homework covers the concepts you need to answer the test questions but pitches the concepts in different ways.
The challenge will help you decide this question thru an independent set of eyes. My bet is the 2nd option. If so, what it means is your job isn’t done when the homework is “finished” but when you can explain to yourself what concept(s) each has covered, perhaps even doing extra work via books like the one I mentioned before to test your ability to solve problems without flipping back thru the text.
@mikemac - thanks for the book reference - looks applicable to all people!
Like other say, go over the test with your teacher. FIgure out why you got problems wrong. You never read the concept? You did basic examples but nothing that pushes the boundaries? You could do the problems while looking at the book but not on your own? You never went back to figure out how to attack the problems that you got wrong?