Is it possible to provide an explanation for sub-par grades to a college?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Here's my explanation : I'm actually pretty decent when it comes to science (on average, a 94-96+ without even trying) so it's to then assume that this trend will be consistent through out my high school career. UNFORTUNATELY my grades slipped in Chemistry(to say the least....by letter grade s). Why? 1)She didn't grade my assignments
2) It felt as if her tests were consistently including topics that were either not well explained or even introduced as topics
3) Nearly EVERYONE failed her class and you should note that this was a pre-ap course or as some of you may refer to as honors. This occurred from some choice mishaps in grading)</p>

<p>I really don't want to go so far as to placing all blame on her, I really enjoyed her and her class and I will go so far as to saying that there were lapses in the concentration I payed to school (though this was consistent throughout most of my schooling yet I still maintained relatively high marks)
*My only question is if it's at all possible to present this reason to the admissions council and if it would severely hurt my chances at certain institutions? My other question is if I were to go ahead and present this case, wouldn't I be perceived as whiny and thus not a strong enough candidate academically? *
Though in all honesty, I really don't see the point/ nor do I enjoy placing stress on grades for in my opinion, there isn't a sound assessment in determining the academic ability of the candidate. It reduces the value of learning thus rendering school as a contest in which those that wish to conform to shallow ideals of academic success are celebrated to the highest esteem. In fact, I have this wee hope in the pit of my heart that maybe if I were to somehow present a legitimate sense of intellectual curiosity that ironically betrays my numerical assessment, I may still be able to get in. No seriously....no sarcasm was intended. Simply said, I prefer depth to breadth</p>

2

<p>I think you’d be better off not providing an explanation if it’s not legit. (Legit as in, “I caught mono for a semester” or “my parents were killed in a car crash the week before finals” or something.)</p>

<p>You’ll be fine without one. Even if your teacher really was terrible, it’s better not to justify a bad grade by providing a paragraph-long explanation that it was your teacher’s fault. </p>

<p>Get really good grades in your science class next year and pretend like nothing ever happened</p>

3

<p>I thought so! Thanks</p>

4

<p>You can explain it in a college application, but most places don’t care what your excuse is. My grades suffered during sophomore year because I had major surgery twice. I was basically told I needed to find a place that would understand (by a Brown admissions officer). If my medical issues don’t make up for the poor grades (2 C’s one semester and 3 in another; all other grades were A’s. You can’t miss Chemistry, Alg 2, or Spanish and still do well in my school), I honestly doubt they’d accept your reasons. I’m not trying to disappoint you, but that’s how it is :/</p>

5

<p>I know how you feel.I had the same exact problem with my chem teacher. Even students with straight A’s got C’s in his class, I was lucky to pass with a B. Just sharing my sympathy, sorry if I didn’t help at all. Good Luck! </p>

<p>Sent from my SPH-D710 using CC</p>