<p>I have a question, and I was wondering if any parent could answer this for me. Thanks to all who replied!
I<code>m currently taking IB physics. But I transferred into the class in late November, about one month before the final exams. I did this because my current schedule was too easy, but it took me a long time to change my classes. I knew it was really risky to do that a month before finals- I had so much cathing up to do, so I got a C+ for that semester: ( This is my first C ever in HS, so I was really shocked.
Now I have a B+ for the quarter, and I should atleast be getting a B+ , if not an A-for the second semester.
I WOULD address this situation by asking my physics teacher to explain it in his recommendation when applying to colleges. But I will be changing schools next year, and I think I will ask for recommendations from teachers at my new school.
My question is- is there a place on the application to address this myself? Will colleges even believe me if I do this? I don</code>t know if it would be appropriate to have the teachers at my new school address this issue, as they weren` t the ones teaching me at the time. Or should I have my physics teacher write proof of this situation and then have my teachers at the new school address this? What would be the best option? </p>
<p>Sorry this has gotten long. Thanks to all who replied!</p>
<p>In my opinion, your overall record will be the major influence in your college application process, not one unsually low grade. For example, my S got a well-out-of-character B- on his AP Physics midterm and still got into his preferred, highly selective colleges.</p>
<p>I would not draw attention to this relatively minor problem by writing about it. You have an answer if anyone asks, and I doubt that they will.</p>
<p>A good GC should be able to advise you, and if you are really worried, and the GC is, then make sure he/she knows about this, so that the rec can cover this, using your drive to take a more challenging course at the risk of a grade as the positive. Actually, that sounds like a terrific point in a rec - he challenges himself so much that he even took the risk of fighting to get into a more challenging class, even though he knew he wouldn't be as prepared for the final, but he wanted to LEARN! I am a teacher and wrote a rec for a student of mine - brilliant, but lazy, who does what he wants, not what he should or has to. I turned this into a positive, talking about his self-motivation as a reader fo the classics, and his great drive for the love of learning, that would blossom in a less restrictive college environment. He was accepted at his dream school. He swears it's because of my letter. Taking a negative and making it a positive will only enhance your choice. And, as an educator, I see what you did only as a positive. It shows a love of learning and challenge - and the admin counselor will see that, too. Just be proactive with your GC. Or, if you take another upper level Physics class, make use of your teacher as a mentor - make sure he knows about what you did. That will endear you to him and ask him for a rec.</p>
<p>I would suggest getting a rec that addresses the issue briefly from the physics teacher at your current school and sending it in as an additional rec, along with the two new recs you'll be getting from teachers at your new school. It's never good to draw attention to your flaws but at the same time, it's critical that when looking at your app, the adcoms don't have any unanswered questions or holes. </p>
<p>What year are you? Is your new school more difficult? Which colleges are you planning to apply to? Is your new school a feeder school for those colleges?</p>
<p>I<code>m currently in my junior year-I couldn</code>t take the full IB diploma this year, as it didnt fit in my schedule. I<code>m transferreing to a different school to fulfill the full diploma, but I</code>ll be graduating a year later than my peers as the IB is a 2 year program. I don`t mind it, as I actually skipped 10th grade, so I will have 4 years of HS anyway.
Im plannning to apply to some highly competitive schools, such as Brown, Cornell, Rice, Tufts, etc. Im also planning to applyt to some Canadian schools as well. My current school does not send many kids to Ivies and ivy caliber schools- last year, someone went to Stanford, and another went to UCLA. that was about it(but its an international school, so we have kids going to schools all over the world, not necessarily the states). My new school has some ivy acceptees each year, but it is not exactly afeeder school`.</p>
<p>japstudent12 - I also suggest what juliatorgo said. It is always better to get the letter from your teacher NOW that addresses this issue. You certainly would hate to wait until next year and find out this teacher moved, retired, etc. Good luck.</p>