Hey everyone. I’m currently a junior in high school and this semester I’m gonna have a C in AP Calc AB. I worked really hard but I wasn’t able to bring it up. Now I am studying for the AP exam hoping that if I get a 4 or a 5 on it it’ll help soften the C to colleges. I haven’t told my mom yet about the C, and I don’t know how I should even bring it up. I’m debating just waiting for report cards to come out in June, but will she be more mad because I put it off? My grades are still good; I have a 3.7 unweighted and 4.3 weighted with the C. I also have great ECs, so it’s not like I’m hopeless for college. I just don’t know how I should even bring it up. Please help!
Yes, you should definitely bring it up. Explain to your mom what you’ve just explained here. Tell her the steps you’ve taken to try and improve your grade. All your family can do is expect you to try your best. If your best was a C, then that’s what it was. It’s not the end of the world, and you will still be able to go to a good college despite the C.
In the future, if you’re struggling in a class, you should let your family know. Perhaps they might have suggestions or might be able to find some resources for tutoring or arranging for transportation to meet with your teacher after school, or any number of other things. Parents are there to try and help their children. And then your parent would also have known all the steps and efforts you’ve been making the whole time and would be understanding of the C if that’s how it ended up, because they would have known ahead of time that you were struggling and doing the best you could in the class.
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I agree with what @AustenNut said. I am a senior in high school and I’m about to go to GA Tech but I got into NYU, UGA, and UA and waitlisted at Duke, Emory, and UNC-Chapel Hill. I know that my admissions aren’t HYPS or Top 20 level but they are certainly good schools and I was able to accomplish this with a B in precalc (and failing two AP exams) and I’m taking AP Calc AB this year. Trust me you’re definitely not hopeless, just keep up the rest of your grades and you’ll be fine!
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Thanks! My mom knew I was struggling in this class since like October of last year because she had a meeting with my teacher. I managed to finish last semester with a B- as I was always getting help from my teacher. I did that this semester too but something about this material was a lot harder for me. I talked to my teacher and she said if I want her too she can talk to my mom about it first. I think I may ask her to do that just so she can mention it and tell her how hard I have been working. I’m also gonna meet with my college counselor before hand so she can tell me how I look for colleges with the C and then I can tell my mom to reassure her.
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Agree, just tell her what you said here, but maybe keep it more brief. “Mom, I studied really hard for the class and did all the work, but I’m getting a C. I’m studying hard and hoping to get a 4 or 5 on the AP exam.”
Can you see the teacher after school before the test, if you still have time? It would be good for her/him to explain which areas of the subject you need to focus on.
Fwiw, my kid struggled with an AP class and got a C. He found it really hard. He worked extra hard and got a 4 on the exam, which he got college credit for. I think getting a 4 is a realistic possibility. Good luck.
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“Gonna” is not a word. You might think I am busting your chops on this, but practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes p3rmanent.
Anyway, my advice is somewhat different. I would certainly tell your mother, but it’s probable you don’t know you are getting a C. You suspect you will get a C. Have you taken your finals yet? Probably not, since it’s early May.
So I would let her know that you’re still struggling, and even that if nothing changes you are in line for a C, but saying you are “going to” get a C implies that you are giving up on improvement before the finals. I think that’s the wrong message and indeed, the wrong strategy.
Is a B- out of the question? If you are getting a C now, and the final is half your grade, you only need to rause your grade from s C to a B on the final. Typically, that’s getting 10% more questions right. Is that totally beyond the reralm of possibility?
I don’t really think students need to be shamed for using casual/conversational slang in this context. I’m sure they know not to use “gonna” in their applications and/or academic writing.
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We took a mock exam in April that was pretty much like our final. This class doesn’t have a final as we have an AP exam. I got a passing grade on it, but it wasn’t enough to bring up my grade. So yeah I am going to have a C in the class.
When did you take the AP exam? College Board says it’s tomorrow. And if there are no further tests this year, what is being taught between now and the end of the term and how is it assessed?
After my AP exam tomorrow, we won’t have anymore assignments. We’ll just be getting an introduction to Calc BC and, according to my teacher, learn the math that helped send someone to the moon. So it’s very chill for the rest of the year.
So assessment stops in April and instruction stops in the beginning of May? That seems…um…not to be the best use of the academic calendar. Nevertheless, it is what it is. It’s also odd that if you werer gettinga C and get a 5 on the real AP that it would make no difference (although it’s probably unrealistic to expect huge gains the night before).
In that case, my advice would align with everybody else’s.
Yeah I asked my teacher if it was possible to raise my grade if I got a 5 or even a 4 on the AP around two weeks ago when I learned that my final grade would be a C (I’ve been lightly studying for two weeks, but really started about two days ago). She said the grade books close at the end of the school year so it wouldn’t be possible.
I agree that this calendar is a bit odd, but my D has exactly the same schedule (AP and IB exams now) and then chill for those classes.
Just to take this to explore all possibilities, OP should consider is there any way to get extra credit, etc before the final grade is issued?
I asked my teacher if there was any way at all to raise my grade. She said she doesn’t offer extra credit because then she’d have to offer it to all students. And it would have to be a lot of assignments to raise my grade from a C to a B-
Wait until after Mother’s Day and tell your mom tomorrow and you are absolutely not “worthless” for college. Tell her you tried your best and move on.
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You were on an accelerated math track to be taking Calc AB as a junior - are you hoping to study something calculus-dependent in college? What are you taking next year?
It sounds as if this shouldn’t be a shock out of the blue, for your mom. She knew this class was hard for you, and the lines of communication were already open with the teacher. I agree with Catcherinthetoast - maybe don’t spoil Mother’s Day with a discussion about something that can’t be helped, but just let her know, and discuss where you go from here. You’re not the first generally-strong student to hit a wall in calculus, and colleges know this too. Sure, it won’t help… but it’s not the end of the world. The question is whether you will need to master calc for the future, or whether you’re breaking up with calc forever after this unhappy year.
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Ok, OP
You’re a heckuva’ lot smarter than me…I refused to take AB or BC. I took “baby calculus” in college to get rid of the requirement. Never looked back once.
You will do fine in your college apps in high school.
Very best of luck on the AP exam! Yes, you should tell your mom, perhaps after the exam is over tomorrow.
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I’m hoping to major in Bio in college, and next year I’m taking AP Stats
Calc is hard. It’s even harder when you probably took most of precalc online. As I mentioned in your other thread, my D got a B in first semester AP calc and a C second semester. She was very open with me about her struggles and did everything possible - meeting with the teacher, private tutoring, etc. - but it wasn’t enough to raise her grade the last couple of percentage points to a B. I wasn’t upset with her at all because I saw how hard she was working in a very demanding academic and EC schedule, not to mention doing it all in the midst of remote learning during a pandemic. She will be attending Amherst College this fall, so clearly they saw enough in her that they were willing to overlook the C. She was also admitted to a number of other selective schools, several with merit, along with a full tuition offer at a state university.
A C is not ideal, but it’s also not the end of the world. Are you planning on taking Calc BC as a senior? If so, you can mitigate the C with a strong performance first semester in BC. The C also matters less if you list non-stem majors in your applications (my D mostly applied as a Chinese/International Relations/Environmental Studies major).
Best of luck to you!
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I’m planning on taking AP stats next year because I do not want to do another year of calculus haha. I also want to be a Bio major