My child (a junior) has been doing great in school (varsity sports, national honor society, scholar athlete). Also went in for the challenge of APs (we are in a competitive school district) and this year took AP Chem ( got an A or B in honors, i can’t recall ) and AP Physics (never had physics before) and Anatomy. The semester grade in Chem was a C+ and the 3rd qtr a C. Today my junior told me the final, received an F and that counts as a qtr grade and expect a D or if lucky a c- . Does not want to talk about it cause stressed to the max. Near breaking at times. Also got an F on a recent test and make-ups are allowed. So will try there retake if the teacher gives time. Made-up some test in the past to raise grade but teacher policy is that if you make-up, then you get that grade. Unfortunately, my junior is not a test taker and stresses, so did worse…actually lowering the grade which was even more stress since the students are required to do all kinds of extra test correction before retaking. Does not seem fair to give the make up grade if worse . All homework done and all labs are high grades. Not sure how Physics will turn out. Prob a C.
Right now, I am concerned this will hurt getting into college. Does not want me to talk to any teachers…even via email. Wants to handle it but then wants to give up cause did their best. Not sure how the teacher will respond since the ones who get good grades or “suck up” are the favorites. I just don’t know what to do…mad at myself for encouraging the APs and also mad at the counselors who seem to not be aware of anything or guide. I was reading on CC tonight that you should not even take an AP unless you think you will get an A! what the heck…your doomed if you challenge yourself and doomed if you don’t.
AP and advanced classes are different at different schools, but generally I think the advice is to consider AP if you feel you will do well in the class. Colleges do like to see students challenge themselves, and getting A’s and B’s, and even a C or 2 in those tough classes can be fine. You mention that your child struggles with tests. Does he/she do well on homework and classwork, but just has test anxiety that might need to be addressed? Is your child participating and asking questions in class? Are there tutoring or after school study sessions available that they have been taking advantage of? Has he/she asked the teacher for help (before a test, not after)? If he/she is making that effort, then it may be that the class is too advanced at this point. If he/she isn’t doing those things, I’d have a heart to heart to find out why. Does he/she really want to be in the AP classes? If your child isn’t sure, they should talk to the teacher to find out what class the teacher recommends for them for next year.
What is your child thinking of majoring in? As long as it’s not science, then the poor AP science grades will probably not affect his/her chances too badly. Colleges will look at overall GPA, but also look at grades in relevant courses. If your child has As in humanities courses, and wants to major in humanities, then the colleges may overlook the low AP science grades. Your child can also address the grades on the application (when they ask if there is any other info that they should know) although I know that many counsellors advise not mentioning anything about poor grades. Remember there is a college for everyone and your child will get into college. And thrive! Best of luck and stay positive!
Those couple of bad grades aren’t going to effect his chances of getting into college. However, what type of colleges? State schools, OOS, liberal arts? They will effect some that are highly competitive. But, SAT scores and ACT scores matter quite a bit. He will go to college, do not fret about that.
If he is that stressed, it might be important to focus at present on what is stressing him and address that, with less focus on the grades. Take care of him.
Are HYPS out? Probably but only about 5 percent of kids get in there anyway. State schools and LACs? probably not. Depends on which ones. Not sure advice on taking APs from us is helpful now that the classes are over. It will feel like blame.
Moving forward, I would address the text anxiety. College is full of tests. There is a lot less homework to buffer a bad test grade. There are papers but not in every class.
Whether you should intervene with the teacher is going to get you mixed advice here. Some parents do nothing and some will go meet with the teacher. Some will email.
If we did get a D, find out your school’s policy on retaking classes in summer school for credit recovery. In our district a D is failing and there would be no credit.
Who knows- the experience may make for a great essay topic.
Yes, it is a significant setback for a child who aspires to be a physician and hopes to go to UVa (another thread). The poor grades come in what many consider to be the most important year on the high school transcript. And the APs are an indicator to adcoms of how she we handle college-level work.
Another thread indicates that there were concerns back in Feb 2014 when your daughter was setting up her schedule. She was very apprehensive about her ability to handle this load. Others pushed her to take this load on. So, yes, you are right in feeling at least partially responsible. But I don’t think any competent GC should have signed off on a schedule so heavy in science when she previously had no APs and there were acknowledged concerns about the amount of work she could handle each night. This was destined to have a poor outcome.
Having said that, I don’t think your D’s dream of becoming a physician is necessarily dashed. Not too long ago I heard a dean at one of the CTCL colleges say that she would rather see an applicant take an AP course and receive a C, than take a less rigorous course in order to get an A. (This is a CTCL school, however. The elites view this differently.)
If I were a parent in this situation I would do the following: I would immediately seek a meeting with the AP Chem teacher and an assistant principal to see what could be done to move that D up to a C-. Extra work? A partial retake? A D on the transcript will be very damaging. Remember, schools and teachers like to see their students be successful both in class and in getting into colleges. If a C- is close, they may work with your daughter to attain it.
Second, there are many great schools that accept students with imperfect academic records. Many of the CTCL schools are among these. Colleges like Earlham and Wooster accept B and C students, yet have outstanding success in seeing their grads go on to medical school. The benefit with these schools is that science classes are small, there is a lot of personal attention, yet there can be a surprising number of research opportunities as well. I hope she considers visiting some of the CTCL schools.
I am writing this for the benefit of other parents with students in high school. This is a case where it is good for your kid to work with his adviser to figure out what would be the appropriate courses to take. I am not saying this is what OP did…Too many parents ignore teacher’s advise on next level of course to take. If your kid is not a STEM student, there is no need to take the most advanced math/science courses. D2 was a humanities student, so she didn’t take HL Physics or Math in IB, instead she took HL English and History. She was able to get As in Physics and Math, and focus her time on English and History.
It is also important to monitor your student’s progress. If you see your student struggling after few tests, there is no shame in dropping the course or go down to the next level.
My nephew didn’t take any AP course until he was a senior. When he did take those courses, he was ready and aced them. By not taking AP courses until senior didn’t hurt his college application.
OP - you are not going to be able to change your kid’s grades. I would have him take summer courses and hope he could get better grades. Adcoms are going to want to know he is capable of handling college level courses.
Summer classes are an option, but I will make a counter suggestion. Your child is stressed, possibly burned out, and also facing loss of self esteem since academics are a priority to your family. The not wanting you to talk to the school is probably a sense of shame as well as a “back off mom and dad” message- something kids feel at this age.
The grades happened, but IMHO, now is the time to focus on the child? What is going on? Is it stress, depression, and hopefully not- but substance abuse or some sort of rebellion? Does the kid feel like a failure in the family? Even if you are accepting of your child, if he (or she- you don’t say) is in a competitive school, then he may feel he is a failure relative to his peers and think his teachers don’t like him.
Succeeding in classes after doing poorly can help his record and his self esteem, but if he is stressed and burned out, this may not be the best time for going right back into the academic stresses again. What about a break? What else does he do that he enjoys and feeds his soul and his self esteem? Art? sports? How about a summer job- where he can do well and make some money? That’s a source of accomplishment as well as something to put on an application.
The grades are done, but he is only “doomed” if he is defined by them. He is not. Now, may be a time for him to get some down time. Counseling could be very helpful- someone to talk to, to express things he may not want to say to his parents, to help with anxiety and stress management. He can and should get back onto the saddle after falling off the horse, but may need some support and time off before getting back on.
Most “pretty smart” kids might take Bio, CHem, Physics, and then senior year, an AP version of one of those.
Your child took AP Chem and AP Physics at the same time which is very strenuous.
I would contact the teachers/guidance counselor…many students are embarassed and don’t want to talk to the teachers themselves but at this point you have to.
“Doomed?” For crying out loud, ease up on the pressure on your son. He WILL go to college. One C in an AP class does not mean he has no future.
Having just been through this process for the second and last time, it is incredibly sad to see the strain both parents and kids put on themselves to be perfect. He can be valedictorian and it still doesn’t mean he’s getting into Yale (I can tell you that first hand). Take your foot off the gas pedal and look at your son as an incredibly stressed teenager, and then figure out how to help that, which is the far bigger problem than his AP physics grade.
If you pushed your child to take two AP science classes (with no previous AP experience?!) over voiced concerns by either your kid or a GC, well, you should feel responsible. However, what’s done is done. It would be much better if your child could get C- than D in these classes. If she wants the C-, then she will ask the teacher how to get there. Step back and let your child take charge. There may be some fallout (e.g., your child does nothing and gets a D).
Find ways to support your child. Address the test anxiety issue. It may mean, you stop pushing the child to take harder, more advanced classes than she wants (this really is key). Trust me, when you stop, sometimes the child surprises you and steps up. And really trust me, a couple of Cs will not stop your child from getting into a good, well respected, if not prestigious or jaw-dropping named, college.
This summer and next fall, focus on what colleges suit your child, not what your child has to do to suit colleges.
You need to go talk to the principal or AP right away. Step in and advocate for your child. I would also look into counseling for your child and possibly consider if your child could have an undiagnosed learning disability or a problem with anxiety. Both respond to help, therapy and treatment.
Taking Chem AP plus Physics AP at the same time is more than a typical class load in science but not knowing the rest of the schedule, I can’t say how much of an overload this is. Still, that your child went from A -Bs to C-Ds is troubling. Don’t dwell on “colleges” right now. The more important concern is understanding why your child is struggling. Being a varsity athlete and taking a very heavy course load just might be too much. Also, please eliminate the word “doom” when speaking about your child. This is a minor stumble in the larger view.
I have a humanities kid, she got a C- in Honors Chemistry, not AP Chemistry in Senior year, she did get into some great colleges but that was 2007 time frame. I think the college games are getting harder from what I’ve observed.
Don’t assume the ones who do well are suck-ups. Your child got all the way to the end of the course year and now you’re flipping out, when she had a semester grade of C+ in chem, a warning sign. And likely some testing along the way, in physics.
Don’t look so hard at the goals (wanting him/her to have APs for a better college shot) that you forget the actual kid involved. I agree to look at overcoming any anxieties or insecurities, not exacerbate them. Don’t be so blown away that your child feels even more lost. Help her get over this.
Been there, with D2. It took a lot of “glass half full.” Not pointing fingers, but accepting and praising for what you can. (Maybe that’s honest praise for the homework and labs.) For us, the goal, of course, was a good college. But the more important target was how she sailed into young adulthood. Our kids need our help in shaping their perspectives.
Besides all that, if she wants a med future, you want to find colleges where the pre-med path is cooperative, not competitive (purposely making classes quite difficult, in order to weed out a very large chunk of pre-meds.) The sort of schools you may be thinking of today may not help her one whit with getting into med school.
Talking to a teacher will not change anything. The student earned that grade. It’s not the end of the world, but getting a C and D in junior year likely will exclude your child from elite schools or the type of school where you need two AP science courses to be considered competitive.
I would second the question about what else she might be interested in (and very good at) that she could spend the summer doing, to rebuild self-esteem.
As for colleges, she’ll be fine. She should try to spend the next year being herself and not trying so hard to compete. Competitive high schools can have some really negative effects. She should make choices based on interests, not “shoulds” if she can. If the guidance counselor pushed the AP’s, help her by supporting a less stressful load.
Many high schoolers think they want to be doctors. It can be a sign of immaturity and lack of knowledge about the complex options offered by the contemporary work world - or not. I would let her know she can explore interests in high school and college and decide later. In fact, there are now programs for humanities majors who want to be doctors.
There are many ways to be involved in medicine, too. I know several kids who graduated from college in something like psychology or English and then did an accelerated nursing program. I know some who have become paramedics. Physicians’ assistants are like nurse practitioners. Or she may end up wanting to do the med school route.
(Has she volunteered in a hospita? What led her to want to become a doctor? Peers? Personal experience? Is there a doctor in the family?)
Or…maybe she will take Russian or anthropology or art history and fall in love with it. Stressing about college admissions and med school now, is pretty tough on the spirit and I hope she can enjoy senior year- and you too.