<p>I am one of those "I need to go to a top-notch Ivy League/Stanford/Georgetown" type of people. I have done well throughout high school, I have high SAT scores, strong extracurriculars, all the needed jazz.</p>
<p>Now here's my problem. Typical to my normal choice in course-schedule, I picked the hardest classes at my school. I usually do really well, because I'm neurotic and study my butt off. The problem is, I'm slightly weaker in the science area. The only B's I've gotten, ever, in fact, were in science classes. But I didn't let that deter me from taking the freaking most difficult AP at my school--AP Physics.
The class is KILLING me. KILLING. I had a low B going into the final, and despite all the studying I did (I even forwent studying Calc. to study solely for this class), I was 3 points low of the grade I needed to retain my B in the class. I was knocked down to an 80.0%, which becomes a C+. My first and only EVER.
I have no idea what to do. I'm a senior...so my applications are all in, but I have to send in my mid-year reports. I am so incredibly incredibly afraid that this C (gah, it hurts to see it, to type it!) will ruin any chance I had of being CONSIDERED for admission...
gah.
gah.
I was thinking of dropping the whole class off of my schedule completely, but I'd have to find a way to explain that and I think that just makes it look like I'm trying to get out of the fact that I have a C (which I am.)
I applied as a humanities major, so I'm hoping that the low grade in a science course won't affect me quite as much as it might were I...not...humanities.
Will they look at the fact that it's AP Physics first?
Or the fact that I got a C?</p>
<p>I'm distraught. I think this leads back to that age-old question, which is better, the harder course or the higher grade?
I think I could die.
Gah. Gah.
Gah.</p>
<p>If it were simply a low B, I might say differently, but since its a C, I'd personally drop. I think that colleges might see it as more of slacking if you got a C in a harder course than a B+ or A in an easier course. If I were a adcom, I'd think that you're either 1) slacking off senior year (bad) or 2) just took an AP course to say that you took the AP course even though you weren't truly up to it (bad). If you were taking the easier course and got an B+ or A, I'd either think 1) you were slacking off senior year by not taking the most challenging course offered (bad) or 2) truly weren't up to taking a higher level course in that certain subject and were able to realize this and make a responsible decision (good).
So, therefore, you'd have a higher chance of a "good" place in my books if you dropped.
And how would the colleges know that you were getting a C? In my school, if you drop, the grades prior to dropping are reported as a P/F</p>
<p>Honestly if your school is extremely competitive and you are ranking in at leaset the top 10 percent I wouldnt freak out so much. </p>
<p>For me at least...my school has grade inflation and I had a C+ last year and I'm still in the top 5% of my graduating class. Many of the kids go to ivy leagues and everything. I only have a 3.7 but that qualifies for top 5% beacuse of how competitive my school is. I know that a 3.7 could make someone top half of their class.</p>
<p>In conclusion I think your grades need to be taken into context. While having a C+ is not the ideal situation, realize that it is not going to be the deciding factor to reject you.</p>
<p>Can you get some extra help from your teacher? My D's teachers would meet before school and after school to help 1 to 1 when she had problems. Your teacher is not your ememy, ask for help from your teacher, they are the best source.</p>
<p>Okay, so update on my situation:
In the past, my school used to allow dropping a class completely off the schedule, as in it's completely wiped off your transcript and replaced by an independent study period (by the "past" i mean, when I was a freshman/sophomore/). I assumed the process was still available to students, but our administration recently changed hands so they're not letting us do it anymore. (I just talked to the advisor today).
I'm pretty much stuck with my C+...The rest of my grades are really good, so I hope it'll just be seen as a slip up. I'm just afraid they'll think "oh, she can't handle high school, how's she going to handle college" or something.
Um, half my problem is my teacher. It's one of those classes where you have to learn everything on your own, and the teacher kind of just...stands there and looks pretty... (the science department at my school tends to be like that, with the exception of AP Bio) so your teacher is pretty much just your textbook. I was having a really hard time of teaching it to myself, and I was looking around for a tutor, but a good one is really expensive and I frankly couldn't pay the money for it. I dunno, I crammed and crammed for the final (he gave us a full AP test, but didn't curve/grade AP-style) and I did alright, but not well enough.</p>
<p>I guess there's nothing I can do about it now...except wonder whether or not it'll make or break me. I hope it won't...especially since I'm a humanities major...earghh. I don't know what percent I'm in, I know I was top 10% before the C, I guess I'll have to check if I'm still up there now.</p>
<p>Well, since it's staying on your transcript, and since you hate it, and since you're a potential humanities major, I think you should drop the class and explain it in a note of some sort. Considering that it's just the midyear report and senior grades tend to dip a little, and that the adcoms can see that science is your weaker point (thus it isn't your intended major), I think they'd be more generous. I wouldn't worry too much about it. =)</p>
<p>can you talk to the teacher? maybe ask for some tutoring/ extra help or ideas on how to study...maybe ask to retake some other test...i really dont know what to say...hardest school i applied to was michigan so im not sure of these ivy league people. if you cant drop it i would say go through with it, my physics teacher is not the best...but i find it way more interesting/relative/ and connected as i move on through the class on my own.
if you pull a c up to an a you will look pretty good...i mean A for this semester. just my 2 cents....what r ur ACT/SAT/GPA/EC/Rec like?</p>
<p>As we all know, a C+ isn't great. But it is in a tough course, and a course that is outside of your strengths. As long as you stay within the top 10%, I wouldn't spend anymore time worrying about it. One not particularly egregious slip-up is not going to spell rejection. If you were competitive before, not a big deal. If you weren't really, well...you're still not. </p>
<p>On another note, I can't believe that you were given an AP test as your final and it was not graded like an AP test--that doesn't seem fair at all. I don't know how finals are weighted at your school, but that wouldn't work at my school at all (finals are 20% of our final grade). Even really good kids got 70/90 on our AP Physics final, which was curved to basically 100%. What did you get on your final? Because if you got, like, a 60/90 and he didn't curve it at all, I would strongly suggest that you ask your GC to explain this on your Mid-Year grade report, because the C+ seems totally unfair in that case (after all, that would be a 5 on the AP exam).</p>
<p>A C won't make or break you, even in Ivy admissions. I have tons of friends who sent in mid-year or first quarter grades with Cs and still got accepted to Cornell, Harvard, Yale, whatevs. Maybe if you wanted to be a physics or math major, or an engineer, your C would matter. But if you're, like, an aspiring journalist or political science major, trust me, if you're rejected, it's because you failed otherwise as an applicant, not b/c of your C senior year.</p>
<p>But basically I have no sympathy for you "prestige or nothing" people. You're really no better than the kids who always have to wear a name brand of clothes or something. One day you'll wake up and wonder about life and education and what the heck it means, and you'll be sickened with yourself.</p>
<p>But for now, just stop freaking out over your C.</p>