Last year I made a 4.0 first semester and a 4.3 second semester. I have roughly a 3.7 overall as of right now. But, it is my senior year and I’m struggling with two classes. AP macroeconomics and Trig. I’ve always had a rough time with math but I really wasn’t expecting to have so much trouble with economics. I did well in my AP classes last year, I got a 5 on both of the AP tests, so I thought that econ couldn’t be too bad. I was wrong. I have a midterm tomorrow that I’m completely lost on. My teacher gave no structure or real information about what is going to be on the test. I keep reading everywhere that senior grades, especially first semester are very important. If a college sees that I had straight A’s last year and this year 3 A’s and a C in trig, and a C in AP econ (which is really a B) would this greatly effect my chances of being accepted?
Keep in mind the schools I’m applying to are CSU’s only, but schools like SDSU and CSULB are extremely impacted so they can be very choosy…
UCs and CSUs generally don’t consider senior year grades for admission. However make sure you don’t get a D in anything. Get extra help on those two classes to prevent any downward drift in grades.
erin’s dad’s advice about getting help is the key here. How you perform your Sr year is very indicative of what you can expect your first semester at college. Get used to seeking instructor assistance, tutoring, etc. is often not nearly utilized enough by college students. Teachers love to help students who want take ownership of their studies.
I think your fine since most of the schools your applying to don’t consider senior year grades. If you are really worried then just focus all your time into the subjects that you have difficulty with even if that means having your grades suffer a bit in your other classes.
Senior year courses and grades will be shown on the final transcript to the college you matriculate to. College admission offers are generally conditional on completing the previously-reported in-progress courses with high enough grades. Some schools, like most UCs, tell you specifically what the threshold (as in a minimum GPA and no D or F grades). Other schools are more vague about wanting you to maintain your level of academic performance without giving a specific threshold.