I know this question has been asked to death, but I just want to know the impact a single F on the mid-year report could have on my admission decisions. It’s in a seminar/elective, not a major class. I’m taking several AP and honors classes, all of which I have A s and A-minuses. But the F really worries me, even though it’s in a relatively unimportant class. Any input on the impact it could have on my admission decisions? I mainly applied to schools like U. Rochester, JHU, and Case Western. Thanks in advance.
It reduces your chances by 24.578%
Seriously, how can you expect anyone out here, who have not seen your entire application nor know where you stack up in the applicant pool, to give you an answer?
My guess is that it would hurt you badly in selective school like the ones you have listed. That it’s a minor class shows that there is “don’t care” attitude at play here that admissions folks are always seeking to sniff out. Frankly, you’d be out without some very good explanation of why this happened, if I were the Admissions Director. If you have some good reason, you might want to work with your GC to submit it.
Hurbag- I would definitely talk to your guidance counselor about that F. Yes it can hurt, but it depends on the school. If they really want you, they will take you.
The worst that will happen is that you’ll go to your safety and transfer to your top school
“. . . and transfer to your top school”
Really, please explain how you ( @Shrekhanal ) can ensure that.
Why would you allow the very last thing an admission board sees to include an F?
The cavalier attitude about it is more a concern to me. Does this student really believe that an F in an “unimportant” class will not have a huge impact, like auto trash the app?
Your best hope is to write a letter of appeal with a valid reason for why you got that F. Taking a bunch of other AP’s and honors classes, for me, would not be a good enough reason. There are several students who are doing that and not failing their classes.
Personally, it doesn’t matter if it’s a core or an elective, you still managed to get an F on a class. That just shows me that you have a “I don’t care” attitude, which does not look good for most colleges.
The schools that really want you (where your profile is above their usual applicants) are most likely the ones that MIGHT still accept you without a valid reason. The more competitive ones are less likely to do that.