So I am currently a junior in high school. My grades have mostly been A’s with a few B’s but I just got my first C ever this semester in pre calculus. UW GPA: 3.5 W: 4.2 (both before this semester). I’m scared that having a C on my transcript will hinder my chances at getting into my dream school UF. PLEASE HELP!! I’m freaking out right now.
I don’t know how it effects UF, but all I can say is C is not the end of the world. Just make sure when/if you take Calc get a B or Better. C will wash away if they are looking at it holistically.
@georgiaflorida I really hope it doesn’t affect me. Should I even consider taking Calc anymore?
instead of worrying about what an adcom might think 1+ years from now your time is better spent thinking about why you got a C in this class.
Like a lot of kids you may be really learning how to take tests more than learning the material. They get the homework done by flipping back to the example problems, study for a nite or two before the test and then promptly forget it, then spend the week before finals getting it all back into their mind long enough to take their tests. This works in most classes; they remember enough for each test and their verbal skills let them pad out essays, but on math tests they find out they can’t recall enough to solve many problems. Truth be told they never really learned the material and they can’t learn it in a nite of study. And while it may just be a math or science class causing trouble now, once you are in college just about any major is going to have classes that require real understanding and not just cramming so just avoiding math isn’t more than a temporary fix.
If you really want to be a strong college applicant (and later student) you’ll stop worrying about college admissions and figure out why you aren’t learning the material as well as you should. Vague exhortations like “I’ll try harder” won’t cut it. You need to sit down with your tests and final and for every problem you missed ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not understand the question? Did you understand it but couldn’t remember how to answer it? Something else? Once you have an idea of what’s going wrong you can start to think about fixing it.
You can find websites with discussions of how to study. It might be a good idea to set up a meeting with your teacher in this class, tests in hand, and ask for honest advice on what you need to do to improve. And there is a book I recommend called “Make it Stick” about the science of learning with lots of tips for HS and college students.
@PhilM1 In my opinion, calc is much easier than pre calc.
I got a C in pre calc both semesters my sophomore year and ended up getting a B both semesters in AP calc AB and an A both semesters in AP Calc BC…