How much would poor grades in senior year AP classes hurt me

Applying to College
1

<p>It's midway through the first marking period and majority of my classes I am doing well above a 90 in.
However I am taking AP Bio and AP Physics and I am not doing so well. I'm trying to be optimistic and I really think that if either
A) I get back into my routine of studying I could possibly manage to get at least a 80 in physics and 85 in bio
B) physics teacher drops our first test I could manage a 88 or at least above a 85</p>

<p>I haven't gotten grades in the low 80s since 10th grade- which isn't too long ago and I don't want to make grades like 80s the usual.</p>

<p>The other classes that I am taking (and as of so far doing well in) are as follows:
Science Research
English 101
AP Psych
AP Gov
Discrete Math</p>

<p>What I'm really worried about is that I am planning a career in the sciences and doing if I really do poorly in my first marking period I do not want to be rejected by the colleges I'm applying early decision for.</p>

2

<p>ED/EA are decided w/o regard to your 1st semester grades. Now if you’re deferred, your updated transcript will be part of the evaluation.</p>

3

<p>My daughter is taking AP Bio and is in the same situation…The difficulty level of these courses is much more than you are used to so you have to study more/differently/go to teacher office hours/form a study group and get at least a B.</p>

4

<p>

That is a concern; some ED/EA colleges will informally call counselors to check on how students are doing senior year.</p>

<p>But there is a bigger issue here. I’m wondering if you just never learned how to study effectively? I clicked on your name and saw that earlier this summer you were saying you found math difficult. Now its Physics and Bio too. To me this suggests that you aren’t doing enough work for these classes, and/or the right kind of work.</p>

<p>Smart kids can skate by most HS classes on their innate smarts. They can absorb enough in class and with brief review, and test problems often closely resemble ones from the book. This doesn’t work so well as the difficulty goes up, which I suspect happened earlier in math and now is happening again in other science classes. You may not know that in college, which these classes are supposed to be equivalent to, good students find themselves 6-10 hours per week on each math/science class. </p>

<p>Here are some tips [ul][<em>]There is a good book to read called “What Smart Students Know” that was written by a co-founder of the Princeton Review Prep schools. [</em>]Spaced study is better for learning than trying to “cram”. You are much better off studying 90 minutes on each of 5 days then spending the same time on Sunday trying to catch up. [<em>]For many subjects there are workbooks such as the “Physics Problem Solver”. These are incredible tools and I don’t know why schools don’t pass them out along with the textbook. The chapters have worked problems, hundreds of them. There is no rule that says you can only do the assigned problems from your text. Using these books should be a big part of those hours previously mentioned. [</em>]There are free software tools such as Anki that implement spaced-repetition programs, proven to be the most efficient way to memorize things. [/ul]There are tons of websites you can visit for advice, and your college is likely to have a learning center as well. Two links to get you started are [On</a> Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/3zh9frh]On”>On Becoming a Math Whiz: My Advice to a New MIT Student - Cal Newport) and [How</a> to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/aok5qn]How”>How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses - Cal Newport) Read thru the story at [Teaching</a> linear algebra](<a href=“http://bentilly.blogspot.com/2009/09/teaching-linear-algebra.html]Teaching”>Random Observations: Teaching linear algebra) and see how that prof forced students to rehearse material with great results; the advice earlier focuses on doing that yourself. 2 other good links [Why</a> Students Think They Understand—When They Don’t](<a href=“http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/winter0304/willingham.cfm]Why”>Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Why Students Think They Understand—When They Don't) and [Practice</a> Makes Perfect—but Only If You Practice Beyond the Point of Perfection](<a href=“http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/spring2004/willingham.cfm]Practice”>Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Practice Makes Perfect—But Only If You Practice beyond the Point of Perfection)</p>