Had an extremely horrible teacher this year that gave me a 0 in my final culminating worth 20% for Computer Studies… dropped my grade from a 79 (B) to a 66 ( C )
I am a tenth grade Canadian high school student. Even with the 66%, my average for this year is 91%. My intended major is economics. I’m going to try and get the 66% up to a B(70%), but it would be appreciated if someone could bluntly tell me how this mark hurts my chances, whether I should take another computer studies course and get a higher mark, retake the course, etc.
My dream schools are Oxford, Yale, and Harvard. Am I out of the race? No longer a competitive applicant? My extracurriculars are stellar and my other grades are mainly high 90s.
It’s worse than getting an A. But it’s also one grade among 25/50/100 (depending on whether it’s a quarter/semester/final) grades on your transcript, somewhat early in you HS career. Plenty of top university admits are not 4.000 for their entire high school.
Don’t retake the class and don’t try to “explain” a bad grade unless there are true (illness, death in the family) mitigating circumstances. “I had an extremely horrible teacher” will not come across well.
One issue is that bad teachers or bad professors occur pretty much everywhere. They may be rare, but they do exist.
Oxford, Yale, and Harvard are reaches for everyone, and are particularly difficult for international students. I do know some people who got their bachelor’s in Canada and then did their masters or PhD or both in the US at very good universities (including Stanford and Princeton) so this is also a possibility. Also, as a Canadian, getting a bachelor’s in Canada plus a master’s in the US might cost less than just getting a bachelor’s in the US (and you will have the master’s).
I do not think that retaking will do you any good. I think that you just continue to take courses that make sense for you, do the best that you can, pay some attention to your budget, and make sure that you apply to some safeties in Canada.
When it’s unrelated to the major, adcoms can ignore it (or place less value on it.) Much more critical would be appplying to US tippy tops with an overall B average. In your hs, is that 91 a solid A or the low end?
Can your GC explain something reasonable about why you got a zero on the final? That can help. A short mention that uses the oportunity to talk about your great attributes despite this.
Whether the retake situation shows is a matter of your hs policy. Some hs will report the original class, as well as the repeat. I agree, you have better things you could be doing with that time than re-taking an elective.
Not sure how that one grade will affect you, but your chances are the same as every other unhooked applicant. < 5%. AKA- low. So apply, but have another plan ready.
“C” in any academic subject is not going to be at all beneficial for your chances at Harvard or Yale. “C” in CS is particularly unhelpful if you express interest in economics as Econ at H and Y increasingly uses coding packages like STATA in advanced classes and for honors/senior thesis projects.
I would ask for a copy of your official transcript at the end of the year. This will give you a better sense of how you will be presented to colleges. Admissions odds at those colleges are low, and blemishes are not positive - but you already know that.
Yea, it’s not good for Harvard/Yale. If the test-optional trend continues, your transcript will be even more important. Even pre-covid, you basically needed a perfect GPA to be competitive (unless you were URM or athletic recruit or major donor).
Also agree w upthread that CS is not exactly “unrelated” to Econ.
Still, it’ll be a judgment call, not a sure rejection. This is one reason you pay attention to everything in your app pkg. And know the colleges well enough to understand what they want.
Competition from the English speaking countries is tough.