I am a Junior at Beckman High School right now, and i wish to go to colleges like NYU, BC, Purdue, Johns Hopkins, Comp Sci major.
So what happened is, I got a C in my Junior English Honors class
As a junior I took Art Studio Ap, Calculus BC, APUSH, Spanish 3, English 3 Honors and chem AP
And except for English 3 H, I got A’s in all my classes, and I want to know how badly it is going hurt me…
Relax, it isn’t fatal, especially if you start off strong in English next year and if your SATs or ACTs in reading are good.
The bad news is that at some of these schools a single C can mean you have to go through an additional review instead of your regional admissions officer being able to admit you on their own. The good news is that almost all but the very strongest go through that review anyway (and different colleges do things different ways).
Your C wasn’t good and won’t help you but can be overcome. Remember, your fall grades will be key.
It seems you’ve demonstrated a good track record of high grades thus far. As Troyus pointed out, you should continue to demonstrate this consistency through your senior year, so as to make your case.
A good way to address the “C” in your English class is to casually mention it in your essay, in a matter-of-fact manner. Nothing too melodramatic.
For instance:
“Even though I enjoyed putting many hours rehearsing the violin (at the expense of my English class), I still enjoyed playing violin through my senior year, and decided to invest my time to compete on an international level”
“While placing second in the track meet, earning a less than stellar English grade and dealing with poor cafeteria food was manageable, I still was able to continue through the year despite the minor hiccups.”
If you still wish to devote a few sentences regarding about the grade discrepancy, do so, but succinctly and with a reasonable explanation. Concrete proof of rectification would allay any worries of the reader.
How are your past grades?
One C in English isn’t fatal, especially if you aren’t a future English major. Google the Common Data Set for each school you are interested in, go to Section C, and compare your aggregate stats against those of the admitted students. Assuming you aren’t in the bottom half of those admitted academically (in which case you need a hook or some other aspect of your application that gets admin’s attention), then you shouldn’t be discouraged.
OP - what is you UW GPA?
Is it your only one? That is okay. I am not encouraging you to get more C’s, of course, but one C is a drop in the sea of A’s (if that is your situation, I hope).
I wouldn’t mention in in the essay because it would just draw attention to it
My unweighted was 3.84 but dropped to 3.79 and I have 4.5 weighted