<p>This is not at all meant to be a post to find out if I can "slack off," but more of one to quell seemingly inescapable anxiety. I hate ambiguous terms like "flying colors" and finish the year strong, and am wondering if anybody knows what exactly those terms mean. I'm just nervous that possibly going from a 4.0 to (at the lowest) a 3.7 is a drastic enough change to be noticed and acted upon by MIT. These are first semester grades I am speaking of, which will be reported on the Mid-Year Grade Report. I fully intend to work my butt off to get back where I think I should be next semester, not just for MIT, but for my own sake : )! I know this post might seem completely petty, but sometimes everything seems too good to be true. Stupid stress and anxiety, boo! Anyway, thanks.</p>
<p>omg, i'm asking and feeling the same!! i mean, i worked so hard and long on this history research paper due this thursday just in two days when it was meant to be done for over a month long! so...can anyone like mollie answer this?</p>
<p>omg, I can't even think about getting rescinded. Now you are making me paranoid! We all will be fine (by gollie, I hope so). Teachers at my school are also getting a lot stiffer on grading, namely because some seniors are slacking off. It is unfortunate a lot of us have to take the fall, but if we all keep working hard, doing what we love, I am guessing we will be in the clear. Matt answered this question in his blog once, but in all honesty he sort of curtailed his response and basically said, "just do well." So yes, i can understand your sort of anxiety over not knowing what the hell they are talking about.</p>
<p>What I've heard is that, if you get a C, they'll write you a letter and ask you to explain, and you'd better have a pretty good explanation. But that's hearsay (though it's hearsay from the admissions office, which helps, I guess :)).</p>
<p>Mollie, my calc BC teacher got fired and the replacement is way harder than the old guy I was used to. As a result, I think my grade is going to drop from about a 90% (fall term, MIT saw this) to maybe 84% (just guessing) for the winter. My overall average in the fall was 92% for all my classes (just to put it into perspective). I am trying really hard in the class, and am actually grateful for this as it will better prepare me for the AP and for MIT… but I am just a little scared that MIT admissions will be mad at me for the grade drop. Aside from trying my best, is there anything else I can do? Do you think I should be worried?</p>
<p>What is an 84 in your system? A B? A C?</p>
<p>If it’s a B, I wouldn’t worry. If it’s a C, MIT may ask you for an explanation, based on what Mollie said.</p>
<p>ok… yeah B is 80-89, A is 90-100, (but my school just gives the numbers on the grade reports). I guess I wont worry about it, at least now. Hell, I could’ve done really well and not even known it. If it does end up being bad, do you think my explanation as above would cut it? Anyways it will most definitely NOT be in the 70’s, probably like a mid/high 80’s, so I won’t freak out!</p>
<p>OK, it came out as an 83. My other grades are all in the low 90s (low 90s and high 80s are where I have always been, with easy math classes in the high 90s as an underclassmen). I just hope this will not raise too much of a concern, as it is clearly an outlier. I hope that if I describe the teacher situation they will be OK, do you think?</p>
<p>I was a mostly-A’s-some-B’s student in high school, and ended up getting 2 A’s and 4 B’s my last term. While a grade dip isn’t encouraged, I wouldn’t worry about B’s. I never got a letter :D</p>
<p>I know these questions are getting annoying, but I’m freaking out :(. Is 1 C+ in BC Calc a big deal - as in, enough to get a letter? I was borderline C+ last semester, but ended up getting a B. FWIW, at my school a B is between 84-89, C+ is 80-83. I think I should be able to get a B again, but I just want to be sure. My teacher stopped using AP scale in grading our tests, and it’s worrying me :(. Obviously I’m still trying really hard to get at least a B, but less stress would be nice :)</p>
<p>@kb09026 - What does your transcript look like otherwise? </p>
<p>In any case, my advice is to take a deep breath and do your best, but don’t stress about it. Worrying does absolutely nothing productive :D</p>
<p>guys dont freak out!..im a student here at MIT and i can tell u unless u fail a class…no way u get rescinded…if u get a C they will call you or write you to see what’s up…but trust me a C on a BC Calc class or any advanced course for the matter is not as bad…besides unless u will only raise some serious eyebrows if you had straight A’s and after u get accepted u get C-'s…like the letter says go celebrate!</p>
<p>I completely agree that unless you have a substantial drop you are fine… I was told by my counselor (who is nationally recognized - gives talks all over) that you if you stay within one letter grade you are fine (like if you have an A then you can fall to a B-)…if you fall more, they will investigate, but they are really looking to see if any one really tanked and fail a course.</p>
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<p>Otherwise, I have 1 B, 3 A’s, and 2 B+'s this year. Last year I had 5 As, 2 B+'s, and all A’s freshman and sophomore years.</p>
<p>And I’ll try to stop worrying now 
Thanks everyone</p>