Hello,
This post got taken down since I was sharing the account with my child. This is my new account but I have the same concerns. See below for original post:
My oldest daughter(senior) was accepted to Princeton EA with straight As. For all her classes except BC calc she had maintained these grades, however in BC her 2nd semester average is currently at a D+. Homework doesn’t count and she’s had 2 tests so far(68 and 67). These tests have been on sequences and series which she hasn’t been able to grasp despite going to office hours and having a tutor. She has never struggled this much in a class and I am worried not being able to get these two topics could cost her Princeton. There are only 2 tests left in the year and no final.
The previous advice still applies. Yes, a D is a problem; she will get a letter asking for an explanation. Anything she can do to raise it to a C grade ( tutors? Practice tests?) Would be worth it.
I don’t know she has a tutor which hasn’t helped and there are only 2 more tests left. Not sure if she is lying about her effort level or truly cannot grasp the math
Get her a tutor. I know another disagreed but I see zero issue reaching out to the AO and discussing a ‘what if’ scenario so you can be assured and deposit elsewhere if needed.
Of course I’d first look at my acceptance letter and read the conditions.
I get it but have to deal with the situation at hand, unfair or otherwise.
You need to find out from Princeton. So read the conditions on the offer letter. If it’s unclear get a definitive answer - what if the student gets a D.
This way if it’s an issue you can move to the next school. But same thing - what if the student gets a D.
You have to figure out where your student can go to school.
No matter what - make sure the student repeats this class in college b4 going further.
Here’s hoping she can get her grade up in the meantime.
I would try different tutors to try to find one who matches her style of learning. There are a bunch of online tutor websites so she can try one lesson to see if they are a good match
Does she have a College Board account? Has she signed up for her class’s AP Calc BC portal? There are great review explanation videos on that site that show examples with detailed steps. Repetition with those and extra problem sets should help. She can also try Khan Academy resources. Just search the particular level and topics (AP Calc BC, sequences- for example). She should get on top of this right away and speak with her teacher about supplemental work.
I’d be concerned about making sure that my student understands that they need to seek resources for support after the first low grade, not after two, no matter where she goes to college. She will need to learn to be more proactive to succeed in college anywhere. Best wishes.
What was her grade in it last semester? Do they only have semester grades? Would her final grade potentially be the average of an A and a D+?
What is her intended major?
Have you spoken to the guidance counselor or the teacher or both? While I wouldn’t expect the teacher to bend the rules, I also can’t imagine a teacher wanting his/her class to be the reason that a motivated student would have an acceptance rescinded if that student was willing to put in the effort to avoid it. I know others may say the next kid on the list deserved admittance, but you are saying she was an otherwise straight A student who must have had many other amazing attributes to be accepted at Princeton.
I see all the advice in regards to tutor or learning but the real question is what happens to your acceptance if you get a D in regards to Princeton - or really any acceptance.
I think this is what you need help in handling. Hence my previous response.
A D will be very problematic. The chances are 100% that she will get a nasty letter requiring a detailed explanation. What happens after that will be up to the whims of admissions. Rescinding is a very real possibility. A forced gap year is another possibility.
So the answer to the real question is to avoid the situation. She needs to strive for no lower than a C.
Understand but one has to be prepared for the worst case and that’s why OP came here. Easy to say get a C but this is why I suggest the student reach out to the counselor for a what if. We can’t just ‘will’ a C unfortunately.
Does anyone agree or disagree ? But it’s not just Princeton…it’s #2, 3 and 4 too.
My answer appplies to every T20 with the probable exception of UCB and UCLA where there are no whims involved; for those two, the acceptance will be rescinded.
Is Princeton going to send a nasty letter if her final grade is a B-, though? If this student got an A in BC Calc the first semester and ends up with a D+ in her last semester, she may well have a B- as a final grade.
How that grade is represented on a final transcript will vary from school to school. Our high school only shows the final grade on the transcript. Schools would never see this D+, only the A and D+ average, which would be around a B-. Given the question, this school must show both semester grades. Does this school also show a final average, too?
If you look at about the 12th entry in this FAQ, you will see the following ambiguous wording: “ Princeton reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission if there is a significant drop in your academic performance between January and June of your senior year .”
There is no way to know what they consider to be significant, so I would want to at least call and speak anonymously about what the scenarios are and what the student’s options are. They may reassure you that a final grade of a B- for an intended Classics major is not going to be an issue, or they might say that a D+ anywhere for a mathematics major is going to be a no go. They most likely will say that they can’t be specific about a hypothetical situation, but they could at least give some guidance. At that point, you can decide your next steps.
Again, I would enlist the guidance counselor, too, who may be able to help in some way. Does your daughter have an insight into how the rest of the class is doing? Is everyone in the same boat or is this specific to her?
@Angue was responding to my question. As I said above, our school only releases final grades, not semester or 9 weeks grades, so the D+ would not be anywhere on the transcript at our school. I was confirming this wasn’t block scheduling where a D+ would be the final grade for the class. I do think any school, even Princeton, would view a D+ final grade differently than the average of an A and a D+. I don’t mean that it wouldn’t be problematic, but that it’s different.
Call the admissions office if it makes you feel better. The response will be that a dramatic drop in performance will need to be explained, and they will evaluate the explanation in the context of the facts and circumstances cited etc etc and thus can offer no predictions. A semester grade of D with a final grade of C or better will require some explanation but I think not likely lead to recission-but I would deposit elsewhere just in case. Princeton does not require a deposit. Tuition is due around Aug 24.
But then isn’t simultaneous matriculation at more than one college against the rules (even if there is no monetary deposit)?
Worst case is that all of the colleges offering admission will rescind for the D grade in the course that was in-progress at the time of application. The student can start at a community college in that case and follow the transfer pathway to a four year college.