<p>My very smart (IQ was tested to be in the 99.9%) and very underachieving daughter with a lot of AP and honors but variable grades, has gotten an F in gym this semester due to unexcused absences (was behind in an academic class, skipped gym to study).<br>
Does anyone know if this is the kiss of death at the mid-range colleges, such as Gettysburg, Lafayette? Yes, this will show up on her transcript. I'm fairly convinced that she will have to forget about most or all of the colleges on her list.
SATs are 1890 total (didn't prepare will, will take them again).
Any opinions welcome, even ones bearing bad news.
Thanks,
applemom</p>
<p>re: above post.
Yes she is getting counseling etc. Yes, she has learned from this. etc. ANY comments, please?</p>
<p>It certainly creates a bad impression. Though it won't be the difference between life and death, and it shouldn't stop you or your daughter from the colleges you originally intended on applying to.</p>
<p>Do any of those colleges even say they care about gym grades? Usually admission offices only look at "academic solid" courses to make admission decisions based on grades.</p>
<p>Wouldn't an F on the transcript look... bad?</p>
<p>An F in gym is so pathetic, it's not even funny...</p>
<p>EXACTLY. That is the real point. Frankly, if I were on an admissions committee, and I was reading anything other than an absolutely stellar application, I would throw this transcript into the reject pile and say "Next?"</p>
<p>I think if she breaks 2000-2100 on the SAT, gettysburg and lafayette might ignore that F in gym, but she better get all A's and A-'s from here on out, try and do more extracurriculars, do well in her AP's etc., theres still a good chance</p>
<p>She'd have to really show that she's capable of good grades/scores/attendance from that point forward. An F in gym doesn't look good. It's an easy class. Nobody wants to do it, but hey, we all had to go along with it. Everyone knows that gym is primarily graded on attendance now and not performance, so an F in gym clearly screams "This girl was a no-show," which could potentially be interpreted as a trait of laziness, especially if her academic grades are somewhat volatile.</p>
<p>The F won't kill her application unless everything else supports the idea that she's not really trying. If she pulls off a decent SAT and has some good grades to back it all up, they'll likely interpret the F as a fluke during some sort of downtime as opposed to someone who didn't even put in the effort for an automatic A in gym by simply being present. But if her grades/scores are somewhat all-over-the-place, it may keep her out.</p>
<p>Regardless, you should still apply to whatever colleges you'd like. To answer your question more simply, an F in gym is likely not a kiss of death, but it's a bit of an eyebrow-raiser and it'll cause an admissions officer to evaluate if that F is an obvious exception of part of a general trend, so your daughter needs to do her best in keeping up and showing that the F is clearly not indicative of her true abilities.</p>
<p>You've already gotten the main answer from some good posts above. It will raise eyebrows, but it's not necessarily the kiss of death.</p>
<p>It does seem like the kind of thing you might be able to get help from her GC in addressing. The GC probably can't do much if it's a big school and he/she doesn't know your daughter, but if they have any kind of relationship, you might think about trying to schedule a conference specifically to talk about how to handle this during the application process. In the best case scenario, the GC's recommendation could talk about why it happened and what your D has done since then to address the problem.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Why not retake gym to replace the grade? Is that allowed?</p>
<p>^^If gym is a required course for graduation, the OP's D will have to take it over anyway...</p>
<p>Agreed that the GC can write a short explanation that F was due to attendance, not performance...Honestly, though, I could understand so many absences during a quarter (during AP's, etc), but for an entire semester is a little excessive...Didn't the school district notify the parents when the absences starting piling up in the 3rd quarter? Is this "news" to the parent; did she not know that her D was skipping gym?? Finally, the student handbook should have specific attendance requirements for each class....Onus is on the student.....</p>
<p>While the gym grade may raise eyebrows, it will not be factored into her GPA by any college I know of. Sure she should retake if possible, and have her counselor address when she applies, but I hardly think it's the kiss of death at any school where she'd otherwise be a strong candidate.</p>
<p>i dont see how a GC can really excuse absences in gym when the OP skipped that class to study for other classes...</p>
<p>a few answers: Yes, my D is troubled, her judgement is variable, she has been drug tested several times and has been clean, her IQ was high when she was young (according to the WISC), but I'm sure it isn't now, because despite common thinking, IQ is more fluid. I feel it would be a little risky to divulge too much more info</p>
<p>"SATs are 1890 total (didn't prepare will, will take them again)."</p>
<p>This doesnt seem to fit with her iq. Id have her retested, especially since she was young at the time.</p>
<p>F in P.E.= Wow.</p>
<p>Are you approximating her SAT score?
Cause here they are 1950: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-michigan-ann-arbor/482802-how-important-legacy-admission.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-michigan-ann-arbor/482802-how-important-legacy-admission.html</a>
And here they are 1890: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/521676-getting-f-gym-please-comment.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/521676-getting-f-gym-please-comment.html</a></p>
<p>Oh yea, there is a direct correlation between SAT scores and IQ. So you should get her IQ re-tested.</p>
<p>EDIT: The first thread is about 2 months old. So her SAT scores have gone down. Which would imply that her IQ definitely isn't in the .01 percentile. You really should get her tested again.</p>
<p>gym doesnt go on your application or into your gpa</p>
<p>It does go on the official transcript sent by the school. Not GPA, just on the transcript.</p>