So I took a few high school courses in middle school, and here are my grades:
7th Grade -
Advanced Algebra 1:
Semester 1: A, Final: A-
Semester 2: A-, Final: A
8th Grade -
French 1:
Semester 1: A-, Final: A
Semester 2: A-, Final: A-
Honors Geometry - (which basically ruined my transcript)
Semester 1: B+, Final: A
Semester 2: B+, Final: C+ (Ik I screwed up really bad)
So I really struggled with geometry last year, but I’m taking a ton of AP courses and honors classes in high school, so if I do really well, do I still have a chance at colleges like Cornell and UMich (I’m in-state)? I know that colleges would want to see like academic improvement, but will my B+s and C+ on the semester final take me out of the running completely?
What class did you fail? B+ and C+ is not failing. And is the geometry class part of your 8th grade report card? If so, it should have little to no effect on admissions anywhere.
Going into 9th grade, don’t overly focus on any one particular college, especially not a hard to gain admission college. Sign up for a challenging course load that you can handle, work hard, develop interests beyond the classroom and keep your college options open. Look at different types of colleges and programs and by late junior year you should be able to develop a list of places that you would be happy to attend. Make sure they are affordable and have some (at least one or two) that you know for sure you can get admitted to.
As for your specific question, I doubt that geometry grade would prevent acceptance. If you continue to struggle with math/science finals it’s possible that it could make it harder to be accepted to highly selective schools, especially if you are applying to an engineering or other STEM major. However, most people feel geometry is very different than the rest of math, so that may not even be an issue.
Don’t forget: Make sure to find a couple of easier admit, affordable colleges you like!
Thanks sm! The thing I’m most scared about is that since in our high school, it gets factored into our GPAs (I asked my friend’s brother who just graduated), it’s gonna completely destroy all my chances at any ivies and bring down my grade a ton
Are you sure 8th grade courses go into your HS GPA? This would be way out of the ordinary. You may want to get a source more authoritative than a friend’s brother. At our school, they go on your transcript but are not calculated in. Our policy is documented in a student handbook - doesn’t your school have the calculations documented somewhere?
But either way, as noted above, it’s, at worst, one of 30+ courses with grades that will factor into a GPA. And it’s in the past.
@RichInPitt In our district HS classes taken in middle school do appear on the HS transcript and are included in the GPA. Students and parents are clearly informed of this before they take the class in middle school. It does vary school to school. The OP needs to check with his/her guidance counselor.
That said it is counter-productive for a rising 9th grader to be worried about specific colleges. OP – I recommend that over the next two years you focus on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes study for standardized tests.
–Get involved in activities you care about and work towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Enjoy spending time with your family and friends.
When the time comes (junior year) asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be happy to attend. There are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.
If you were doing some research into colleges like Cornell and Mich (ndothers you’ve named,) you’d know they only ask for the transcript from 9-12. Some hs send 8-12, a few 7-12, but tippy top adcoms aren’t interested in middle school. Nor would you equate B/C grades with F grades. You wouldn’t be making lists of tippy top college targets so soon.
Nor would you go with, “I asked my friend’s brother who just graduated” Next time, ask your guidance counselor.
One thing for sure: if you make a lot of assumptions about tippy top collges you’re going to miss a lot of learning about what does atter to them, what they do look for.
@lookingforward I know Cornell and U of M only ask for 9-12, I did look into what they ask for. Also, our transcripts actually do show high school courses that were taken in middle school. But ig sorry for wasting your time asking a question because I care about my future, but you didn’t need to go through all my threads and ask if I was being serious.
You asked, “, but will my B+s and C+ on the semester final take me out of the running completely?”
We pointed out these are pre high school. “tippy top adcoms aren’t interested in middle school.” True, you took “hs classes.” But many won’t even skim 7th and 8th.
The more you know about what they value and look for, the better your path through hs can be. And then: your apps.
And academic improvement is more touted on CC, than by adcoms at tippy tops, with the fierce competition. Your real record begins this fall.
Headling your post with “failed” when the reality is a C+ annoys people. Your algebra skills are strong enough that you should be able to figure out that 1 C+ in the equivalent of 7 semesters =/= bringing down your GPA “a ton”
And it wasn’t even a semester grade, just (it seems) the grade on the final exam. Some hs do report final exams, (I can almost guess what state, lol.) But top adcoms are looking at the final grade, by semester or by academic year. 9-12.
