Mid year grades have come out and the results are awful.
I take four subjects - English, French, Biology and Maths. I got two A’s for French and English, a C and a D in Maths and Bio.
Oddly enough, I am not the only one. Nearly everyone I know got D’s, E’s and F’s in Biology and Maths - and these are smart people, too. One girl got an offer from Imperial College, London to study Medicine - and she ended up with an E in Biology. Another boy with a transcript full of A’s got an E in Maths and a C in Biology.
In our school, the purpose of our mid year exams is to scare us into studying for the end of year A Level exams - hence, most students tend to get appalling mid year results.
It’s the first time I’ve gotten anything lower than a B in three years, so I am disgusted with myself. I’m afraid the universities’ll be appalled, too. Will this severely affect my chances of getting accepted into the universities I’ve applied to? (FYI I’ve applied to the really selective ones - ie Stanford, Berkeley, Cornell, Dartmouth.)
How do I explain to the universities that I’m not the only one with poor mid year results?
<p>How do I explain to the universities that I'm not the only one with poor mid year results?</p>
<p>You don't because it comes off as whining and shifting ownerhip to someone else.</p>
<p>In our school, the purpose of our mid year exams is to scare us into studying for the end of year A Level exams - hence, most students tend to get appalling mid year results. </p>
<p>It's a pitiful excuse that willnot hold water with anyone because ou knew or should have known that the RD process would require midyear grades and you don't have the luxury of getting senioritis, especially if not admitted into a college.</p>
<p>I know that Dartmouth and Cornell do require midyear grades and the grade of D really will do nothing to help your cause.</p>
<p>If you explain it to them it just makes you look more irresponsible. If the low grades are as common as you say they are I'm sure universities will see a pattern from your school, as it probably has happened in the past. It just sounds like you're making excuses for bad grades.</p>
<p>sybbie, it's not an excuse. Our teachers do admit that our mid terms are specifically written to push us into studying for our finals (A Levels, O Levels, etc) as they are the only thing that matters to UK universities, to which the majority of my peers are applying to.</p>
<p>You're probably right in saying, Spanks, that the universities will acknowledge the fact that low grades have been common in our school, especially in subjects like A Level Biology. Only two people managed to scrape an A in Bio last year.</p>
<p>I am making excuses for my grades, and I shouldn't be. So what if everyone I know ended up with C's, D's and E's? A D is still a nasty blot on my transcript.</p>
<p>My GC said that it wouldn't kill my chances, given the rigorous exams that our school sets, and the fact that low grades are common at A Level. But I'm still worried.</p>
<p>yes sybbie, he's not making excuses. i'm in a similar system so i empathize with his situation. it's screwed up to try to push students into studying by giving horrible marks, but it happens.</p>
<p>Our teachers do admit that our mid terms are specifically written to push us into studying for our finals </p>
<p>But why should they have to push you when in the end you are the ones with the vested interest here? You are the ones who needs to finish h.s. and are looking to go to a selective college (the teachers have already been there, done that). If it does not happen for you the teachers quality of life has not changed one bit.</p>
<p>No one is giving you a horrible mark, they are merely reflecting for the record, the work you have done.</p>
<p>Well, in my country (India), a school is judged by its results in the "board examinations." And the preboards which are internal (and whose marks I'll have to send in the mid year report) are generally pretty rigorous, especially in evaluation - and sometimes erratic as well.</p>
<p>Find out exactly what goes on your midyear reports. At S's school, all it lists are the courses and the one semester grade for each course. No quarter breakdowns, exam grades, effort grades or comments.</p>
<p>Your school and grading system seem quite different from most American high schools. Do you have a guidance counselor or teacher that could write a letter of explanation or make a phone call to colleges on your behalf? I think that some clarification is in order and it won't sound like "excuses" or "whining" if an administrator/teacher were to have a discussion with someone at the colleges of your choice.</p>
<p>sybbie - our school pushes us into achieving good grades at the end of the year in order to reflect its high standards of education. Our A Level results are undoubtedly the highest in the country and the school takes a lot of pride in this, and will thus ensure that we students maintain this high level. It's not just about our achieving the best possible grades for our own good - but for the school to boost its own stats, too. </p>
<p>astrix, thanks for understanding. Looks like we're in the same boat. Oh, and I'm a 'she'. :)</p>
<p>Thankfully, our grades are broken down into Term and Exam grades. My Term grades - reflected by class tests/homework/general progress - will be fine because I've worked pretty well throughout the year. It's just the exam grades that I'm a little apprehensive about because I mucked up both the maths and bio exams.</p>
<p>My guidance counselor did say that universities can understand that students will have bad days and thus screw up an exam or two. Still, a D and C looks awful on my transcript.</p>
<p>I've thought about this and decided that if a university is willing to reject me solely on the basis of TWO exam grades out of three years' worth of grades, then I wouldn't want to attend that university.</p>