How badly does a C look on your high school transcript?

Applying to College
1

So I’m generally an A/B student with 1/2 A’s freshman year, 1 sophomore, 2/3 this year (as a junior), with the rest B+'s, but this year (my junior year) I got a 79 in Spanish. How badly does this look on my application when I apply to colleges like Colgate and USC. Given my extracurriculars would they balance out?

I do: Violin, Model UN, the school newspaper, drama (stage crew and acting), chorus, vocal ensemble (selective chorus essentially), art, young entrepreneurs, and football.

Would all of these sort of cancel out with the one C in language? Do colleges really pay attention to languages because I heard that me getting a C in spanish doesn’t affect me that much since I’m planning to major in engineering and every year I have generally gotten an A in math and science.

2

One C won’t throw you out of the mix. The admission standards are holistic for a reason.

3

Agree with above. Especially as you have all As in your math and science classes. Work hard to keep a high average in your other classes next year.