<p>I have all my finals and SAT this week, but now my grades are a new issue for me because of my bad teachers!</p>
<p>For my main core classes I am going down</p>
<p>English H B that can change to C
Math (pre-calc) H Possible to earn a C b/c grade is 81 YTD, I had a B first sem
Science (Chem) H going from a C to a F!!!!</p>
<p>Everything Else is good, But what can I do now? I can't retake these classes over the summer. I wanted to apply to North Carolina State EA but now how will this downfall effect me. I don't want to hear about CC or my own in state colleges. GPA will still increase and I have a 27 ACT </p>
<p>Give me some advice!</p>
<p>Go sit down with you own guidance counselor, and ask that person where students with track records like yours have ended up in the past. The people at your high school are the ones who are best able to help you evaluate your options because they know your school’s track record for college admissions.</p>
<p>While you are meeting with your guidance counselor, get some advice about the best ways to deal with teachers like the ones you had this semester. Even when the teachers are “bad” improved study skills and organization can make a difference for you.</p>
<p>Why are your teachers considered “bad”? Did they fail to pour the knowledge in the proper hole? For every bad teacher you point out, there are four fingers pointing back at you. One bad teacher, I can understand - three? Unlikely.</p>
<p>Wildfactor, regardless of the reason, your grades might make NCSU a serious reach for you. You could end up applying to a lot of OOS colleges that are reaches, and have no affordable or likely colleges on your list. I’m sure there are some out there. If you would like some suggestions, then post your state of residence and if there are any financial considerations. Students can only borrow so much. Even if you are accepted to a college that is cost restrictive, it is the same as being rejected. </p>
<p>NC colleges have to admit mostly from the in state applicant pool. There are only so many spaces for OOS students. Even if you do have a bad teacher, colleges are probably not likely to accept that as a good reason. </p>
<p>The biggest issue you face is blaming others instead of taking responsibility. The onus for learning the material does not belong to your HS, it belongs to you. Now maybe you did have 3 of the worst teachers around. If so, you just flubbed an opportunity! Colleges look for students that want to take charge of their life. There was nothing stopping you at age 17 from deciding you were going to learn Chem and pre-Calc, for example. With iTunesU, MOOC courses, and all the other material on the web you could have easily done so if you wanted.</p>
<p>As one of 34,000 students at North Carolina State you are not going to be getting a lot of hand-holding. You’ll have profs that are not that good. The career center isn’t going to call and offer internships, your college isn’t going to beg you to study abroad, odds are your profs aren’t going to invite you to stop by their office so they can discuss your favorite areas in more detail. A bit farther down the road, a lot of people get a shock when they get into the workforce with the ingrained habit of just doing what they’re asked when they’re asked. That’s average performance, but the people getting the promotions and attention of management are the ones that do MORE than asked.</p>
<p>You owned learning that material, and you didn’t. Until you shoulder the responsibility you have far bigger issues than EA admission to North Carolina State.</p>
<p>While a couple of people have suggested that the problem could be you, rather than your teachers (this may or may not be true, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for this post), I didn’t see anyone point out the most important thing, which is that you must not blame bad grades on anyone but yourself when explaining them in an application. Regardless of the truth, schools will turn you away if you do so, as you will look immature and incapable of dealing with responsibility. I just wanted to make this clear, in case it wasn’t already. Good luck in dealing with your situation.</p>
<p>First, calm down. Panicking will not help. If you believe a specific teacher has graded unfairly or denied opportunities to you specifically, you need to contact the administration immediately, before the grade is finalized. An F will hurt, but remember that college acceptance is based on many factors. Volunteer over the summer, take classes if possible. And even if you don’t get EA, you may still be considered in regular admissions. I highly recommend addressing all these concerns with your GC. </p>
<p>Won’t you have to retake Chem if you get an F? Why can’t you retake any classes over the summer – do you mean your time is already booked up? I’m afraid you may have to make room for retaking that class even if you have to give up other stuff you really want to do – this may be your one chance to wipe out that grade. A few C’s won’t tank your applications completely, but I’m not sure about an F. I would definitely talk to your guidance counselor about this. You might have an option to take a chem class at a community college or something.</p>
<p>I’m sorry about the crappy teachers. Everyone has a few of those; it sucks. My daughter hated her calc teacher this year; she basically learned calculus from her friends and from going to the school’s one-night-a-week tutoring where she got instruction from the “good” calc teacher (the one all her friends had).</p>
<p>In any case, the best advice I can give you is to leave no stone unturned in trying to find out how to make this situation better. Think about how you could write something in your short essay about how you experienced this failure and what you did to overcome it, whether through retaking the classes or learning how to deal with bad teachers (though of course you wouldn’t say “bad,” you would say “teachers whose teaching style is difficult for me to adjust to” or something).</p>