So basically, it’s my first semester of SL math as a junior, and I basically bombed it. My teacher is a jerk, I have mental health issues, yada yada, so math this year…math this year was pretty hard on me. But I’m planning on getting straight A’s next semester, I have 400+ hours of community service, and will be the president of an academic club. How bad does this look to colleges though? I refuse to drop to Studs since I want to get into medical school. I also plan on taking some dual enrollment classes to bump up my GPA.
Total honesty here guys, please. I know a D/F looks absolutely horrendous to universities, but just gimme some perspective as to what to expect. Thank you.
Getting a D/F is very bad for pretty much any university, especially in a “staple” class like math. However, the extent of the damage will vary. What types of colleges are you planning on applying to? Top 20, your state college, community college? The higher up the proverbial food chain you go, the more it will matter.
The grade will also be looked at in the context of your overall application. Is this a one-time grade? Or do you have other C’s and D’s on your transcript? Do you have documentation of your mental health issues/are you planning on mentioning it in your college applications?
It’s also important to identify steps to improve your situation. “Planning” on getting straight-As is not the same as achieving straight-As. It seems like you have identified the problems leading to this grade, now have you identified solid steps you can take to improve your understanding of math (and your grade)? Are you getting a tutor? Maybe going to a different math teacher for extra help? At this point in time, I would be more concerned about having a weak foundation in math rather than having a bad grade in class, as most colleges will require you to take more advanced math classes. And if you don’t have the foundation for those classes, it will not be pretty.
yeah, I know it’s pretty bad. I have A’s and B’s on my entire track record. I’m trying to get into state college/get out of state, definitely not community college. And yeah, I have mental health issues. None of it is recorded somewhere but I can release the information if I want to.
I do have a tutor and I’m working on math rn. If I get a d/f this semester in math and then an A next semester (or all A’s next semester; I have a’s, b’s, and I think one C right now), how bad does this look, along with the 500+ services hours, pres, of academic club, the fact I was an exchange student,etc?
To reiterate what some other users on this site say, your stats are what get you through the door and your ECs/soft factors are what earn you a place in college. That is - you need the right grades & test scores for your ECs to hold weight with admissions officers. Your ECs will be a positive for sure.
Junior year is the most important year for grades as it is the last complete year the admissions officers will take into account during the college admissions process. A D/F this year will hurt your chances as it suggests that you are not ready for a harder curriculum. That being said, if you get a D/F this semester and an A next semester, it won’t be the end of the world - they’ll look at it and see a dip in your grades, but if you can pull it up, they might place less weight on it.
In this situation you should really talk to your guidance counselor as they are more qualified/have more experience & more context about your situation than I (and other users) do on this website.
Why are you getting D/F ? Lack of work? Not understanding the material?
The odds of going from D/F to A, especially in an IB course, are very slim - even with a tutor.
At MANY selective universities (and all highly selective ones) aD/F needs to be
“repaired” or you’re out of the running.
Were you in Precalculus preIB/Honors or Regular ? What grade did you get?
What did your math teacher recommend?
Please realize that not only will colleges judge,you on your grades, but also on your
IB predicted score. If you have a 3 or 4 predicted for Math SL, you will HAVE TO
get 6’s in your HLs, and a D/F first semester doesn’t bode well for a 4.
In addition, Math Studies doesn’t prevent you from being premed. It doesn’t include
calculus, but calculus isn’t a high school requirement - it’s a COLLEGE premed requirement.
You’ll need to take 1 course in calculus and 1 course in statistics in college, and rank
in the top 20%. That’s it as far as med schools go.
I’ve had mental health issues on and off since sophomore year but I’ve never gotten a D, or below a C really, in any of my classes. So this semester things really hit me hard and math was incredibly difficult so that’s why I got the F (actually just checked, I really did get an F this semester). What do you mean repaired? Do you mean getting an A next semester?
I’m officially in the IB program, and like I said early, I got an F this semester. My guidance counselor isn’t letting me go down to studs because all of her SL kids that dropped down to studs who later graduated and became premed in college said that calculus was 10x more difficult in college, for reasons besides just the fact that it’s college calc.
a “repaired” grade is when you take the same class again to “erase” your first, failing grade. Ask your guidance counselor about this possibility. Many schools offer that option.
If the choice is between an F in Math SL and a passing grade in Math studies, take Math Studies. Those other kids who took Math Studies didn’t have D or F in Math SL. Before you can get to med school, you have to succeed in college, and thus get into college. An F in an essential subject will be a bigger problem than taking Math studies.
Ok, thank you. I was thinking about repairing it by dual enrolling and taking college algebra, which should be easier. thank you so much for your help!
As far as I know, you can only repair by taking the exact same class at your high school, either in the spring in addition to your regularly scheduled classes, or during summer school. You really need to investigate ASAP because many universities won’t consider a student with an un repaired F on their transcript. At least, retaking the class shows decent effort.
Another issue is that math is sequential, so that if you understood basically nothing - do nit master the foundation - the odds are low you can even grasp what’s going on in the second, harder part in the SL sequence.
Grades are the most important thing, not ECs. So reduce EC hours if necessary. Look at any college’s “Common Data Set” and GPA and SAT/ACT are “Most Important” and everything else is less important.
It is your final junior year grade that counts for colleges, so you have a chance to bring it up. Ask your Guidance counselor how it will work.
Get your mental health evaluated and treated.
“Your teacher is a jerk”…sometimes they are, sometimes they aren’t.
You can:
Go to teacher office hours. Often once they get to know you better, they seem less jerky.
If they truly are jerky, talk to your guidance counselor or ask your parents to meet with them.
Get a tutor.
Form a study group.
Watch Khan Academy videos.
and finally
DO MORE AND MORE AND MORE PROBLEMS until you understand the material.
What are you doing differently this semester over last semester?