Impact of "Cs" on College Admission

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey all,

Currently in my junior year at a very competitive high school. Up until this year, I had maintained a 4.0 GPA and felt confident to take multiple difficult classes in my junior year. Stupidly, I signed up to take AP Physics which despite being an already challenging class was paired with a terrible and unsympathetic teacher. I spent all my time first semester struggling to get a good grade and as a result my other grades started to slip and I received a B in AP Calc and a C in Physics.

This past semester, I worked with a physics and math tutor but still maintained my B in AP Calc for the semester. Despite the fact that I worked hard and got a high B in the first part of the semester, a technicality in our county’s grading system means that I still get a C for the semester (again) in AP Physics.

Despite these less-than-stellar grades, by the end of this year I still will have a 3.9 unweighted GPA and a 4.5 weighted GPA not to mention my 35 on the ACT. I also have a bunch of really amazing extracurricular activities, I love taking leadership positions and I currently help run the debate team, the school paper, the drama program and a club I co-founded. I also have held an internship the past two summers that has allowed me to speak at the State Department. Additionally, my school counselor knows that I have tried extremely hard in physics and have met with my impossible physics teacher multiple times to discuss how I could do better in the class, and my counselor has said she will include this information and attempt to ‘explain’ the grade in her recommendation for me.

Essentially, my question for all of you is whether I still stand a chance at any competitive schools. I’m not talking Ivy League, but competitive liberal arts colleges (like Haverford, Pomona, Middlebury, Maclester, Amherst etc. )

2

Forgot to add that I’m also looking at Berkeley!! And as for APs, I’ve taken 6 already (including this year) and am planning on another 4 next year.

3

@ajg1260 first, you need to understand that many of the college’s you listed are just as competitive, and in some cases, even more competitive than some of the ivies.

4

I agree with @urbanslaughter about the competitiveness of the LAC’s you listed, especially Pomona and Amherst. Getting a B and a C is obviously not ideal but not the end of the world either. Sounds like you still have a very good GPA and the 35 ACT is great. My main advice is to let your GC offer any explanation she feels is appropriate. If you try to communicate to the schools that you feel treated unfairly by your “terrible and unsympathetic” teacher, that will just be a red flag that you are someone who can’t overcome challenges or setbacks without blaming others. Did you take the AP exams in Calc and/or Physics? If you do well on those you can self report those scores to show you know the subject matter.