Do you think that is true for privates? I have never heard that and may just be ignorant, but kids certainly do this and I personally doubt they contact admissions beforehand though I suppose it is possible they do. It is understood kids take last semester of senior year ina very relaxed manner!
The OP needs to concentrate on getting their kid help to get a C or better this semester.
The only college they need to concern themselves with isā¦Princeton. Thatās it.
3 Likes
Yes, thatās generally a true statement for any school, and likely even more so for a highly selective one like Princeton. Colleges evaluate your application and make decisions using the submitted senior schedule. Any change to the schedule, before or after a decision, needs to be communicated to the admissions office.
I would not finalize any change for any student before getting feedback from the colleges to which he or she applied.
It is NOT understood that kids take the last semester of senior year in a very relaxed manner. Some schools may be more forgiving of dips in grades that others, but all expect at least the same level of performance for which they were accepted, and they absolutely expect them to complete the classes the represented on their application.
3 Likes
100% for highly selective privates. They do NOT like surprises when final transcripts come in.
ETA I only used UIUC as an example because itās not highly selective (overall), to show that this is common.
My D was an athletic recruit at a highly rejective school, admitted ED. Wanted to drop AP CS second semester and go to high honors CS, which was the same level/weighting as the AP class. It was an ordeal to make the switch. Tons of back and forth, with coach as intermediary, need for syllabi, and was not a foregone conclusion they would approve. But they did. I canāt imagine how it would have went had they seen an unapproved change on her final transcript.
2 Likes
Ok I stand corrected I guess, shouldnāt have weighed in without actually knowing. In our highly academic private where tons of kids go to high rejectives, seniors donāt have final exams etc and generally it is understood they deserve a break. I continue to believe that getting a note from a therapist to the school will,get them to see reason and give the student an opportunity to improve the grade. Practical advice that I know has worked for others. No need to involve Princeton, the school needs to see reasonā¦
My first contact as a parent would be the teacher. What does the teacher say is the reason for the D? If your daughter is able to complete the homework for the class, on her own, there should not be any reason for her to get a D. Things to ask the teacher would be: Is she awake during class? Does she participate? Does she do the homework? Can she do test corrections on the tests? Is peer tutoring available? Is the semester grade solely based on tests? Usually, there are other factors such as homework that go into grades.
Has your daughter tried online resources such as My AP or Khan Academy?
2 Likes
My kidsā colleges were very direct at accepted student days that anything below a C was an issue. So would absolutely expect it to be an issue at Princeton and barring an application grounds for recission. Iām another who would first be trying to get to the bottom of this. Calc BC just isnāt that hard of a class for a good math student. I see red flags all over the place here of a student going from an A to a D between semesters. Same teacher? Anything else going on? Have you met with the teacher? We had a huge issue when one of my kidsā teachers went on maternity leave and unfortunately the school could not find an adequate substitute. She didnāt just not know the material, but was incapable of even following the slides the teacher provided continually giving inaccurate information - to say the tests prepared by the teacher on leave did not go well would be a massive understatement. In this case ALL the kids were in the same boat, so the school had to react as having 20-30 of their best students suddenly failing raised more than a few eyebrows. Best of luck to you - and your daughter.
Perhaps that school wanted to reduce the risk of seniors / graduates getting their college admissions rescinded due to slackening academic performance shown on the final transcripts?
1 Like
Never heard of a school which gets many kids into āhigh rejectivesā not giving finals.
My kids HS did not give finals for AP courses because taking the exam was a requirement (if you took the AP class, you took the exam) and the administration felt that two finals was duplicative (I donāt think anyone thought the seniors deserved a break- just that the AP exam was a good substitute for a final). But every other academic class? Just like any other semester.
3 Likes
I really despair at this idea that high schoolās purpose is an extended application test for college, and once admitted, who cares? Donāt kids care if they have mastered the material theyāll need as a basis for the next four? The OP seems to think Princeton will care, and most suspect they will too.
OP, you have gotten a lot of good advice, and doing whatever is needed to get a C should probably be the focus. Itās a good idea to frame it with your D that when things go wrong, itās best to face them head on rather than hope it wonāt matter, especially when she is going to need to know this material. With her proposed major, she should care about whether she has mastered this. It sounds like she has the aptitude, so it could also be empowering for her to tackle the problem and win!
7 Likes
Part of the explanation to Princeton by the OP may need to highlight a possible issue with the OPās academic schedule. Iām guessing the OP is running into a similar danger as my D23, where thereās only a few tests remaining in her last quarter. Allow me to explain why.
I understand the intent of most highly-selective universities, not wanting their fall-selects to have āsenioritis.ā This is to ensure theyāre well-prepared for fall. However, for someone of high caliber (OP) to be in a danger of ending up at a community college over one class shows thereās a large disconnect between the colleges and HS administration/teachers. I see this in my D23ās high school with UCLA stating they want to be informed if my D23 ends up with two or more Cās or one or more D/Fās.
My D23ās HS started her senior year early September with a graduation date of mid-June. However, this causes a bit of a problem for most students who take 4-5 AP courses their senior year. With AP exams beginning in early May, most AP teachers will aim to have all course materials and final exams completed by late April. What this essentially does is, with Q4 starting immediately after spring break in early April, Q4 for AP classes are now essentially only a month long. This only allows teachers to give students 2-3 quizzes and final before AP exams. Some teachers may create a special project or lab grade for after the exams, but from what my D23 tells me, most the students will sit around, playing games and watching movies the rest of the year. If a student was sitting on a āCā grade for Q3, this does not give any wiggle room for students to make any mistakes on their remaining quizzes. For example, my D23 got an āAā for her Q3 grade in her AP Env Sci class. However, she got a ā10ā on a short 20 question pop quiz, essentially lowering her overall semester average down to a āC.ā She now only has one final exam left and sheās now stressing to make sure she aces it. Although one āCā semester average in this AP class may not seem too dangerous, sheās also struggling with an exact same problem with two of her other AP classes. When my D23 tried to explain this to her APES teacher, he was completely oblivious to this ādangerā heās placed on his students over one pop quiz grade.
Iāve noticed some schools in CA have already adjusted their academic schedule for this. For example, one HS in Los Angeles, CA started their academic year very early in August. This gives students more time and instruction to prepare for their AP exams. It also allows kids to enjoy their winter break after their first semester finals, and gives more chances to raise their grades up during their fourth quarter. It seems like kids nowadays are taking more AP classes now than ever. In my opinion, HSs should start standardizing their schedules to align better with AP exams.
Shouldnāt it be the studentās responsibility in deciding what and how many other AP classes s/he takes in the same semester? Why should a teacher of any one of the classes be asked to be accommodative?
5 Likes
Not asking for the teacher to be accommodative. Just highlighting the fact that a short Q4 lends to less grades and opportunities to recover. And not exactly sure what you mean by āstudentās responsibility in deciding what and how many other AP classes.ā At my D23ās HS, almost all of her āpreppieā friends accepted to T-20 schools are taking 4-5 AP classes their senior year in order to stay competitive for their college apps.
You think this will help? I donāt. The student knew the strength of the schedule when they chose itā¦and Princeton accepted them with this strength of schedule.
And the dates of the AP tests are no secret.
I think the OPās kidās goal should be getting a C or better in this semester of this course.
8 Likes
And thatās the choice they made. Itās not an āexcuseā for grades being lower.
1 Like
Not making excuses. And I agree the OP needs to get her grade up and was selected based on her senior year rigor so is 100% responsible. However, just highlighting a possibility that the OPās limited chances to increase her grades is most likely due to an extremely short Q4 (OP stated she only had two tests remaining).
My D23 and I saw this coming and we made sure she didnāt slack off with her Q3 grades (she got all Aās in all 5 of her AP classes), giving her more wiggle room. However, even after getting all Aās, the ādangerā is still inherent in having an extremely short Q4.
2 Likes
Yeah, thatās not gonna happen for so many reasons.
I concur with other posters that this will not be considered a valid reason.
3 Likes
Fair enough. I figured my opinion wouldnāt be a popular here. 
Iām just glad at least one HS I know of have adjusted for this.
The American educational system would be better off if fewer, rather than more, high schools rolled over to accommodate the College Board. IMO.
3 Likes