<p>I'm getting 2 Ds in AP Calc and AP Gov.
I am very extremely terrified because of these grades and i've herd rumors (or real stories) that once colleges see these bad grades will just automatically put a big fat X on my application because they'll think this applicant slacked off because it is his/her senior year...blah blah blahh</p>
<p>I DIDN'T SLACK OFF!!! maybe I made a mistake taking such tough cirriculum that i may not be able to handle, i worked my butt off because of these two subjects. I turned in my homework and everything but I'M JUST NOT GOOD AT THESE SUBJECTS.</p>
<p>what should i do? </p>
<p>i think it's so wrong to reject someone because of my midyear report (well, this haven't happened yet, but i bet it will after my mid year report is sent ... )</p>
<p>I'm no expert, but I can definitely relate to your situation. I've got a C+ in HS Physics, and a C in AP Biology for 1st sem (not D's, but kind of in the same boat). If your classes/curriculum in general are truly a step above the standard "AP" program many schools follow, you need to make that clear to your AdCom. At my school, our grades are deflated heavily, but when we go to college, it's a breeze because we've already seen (more difficult) material. If yours is like that too, and you can prove it by test scores, etc., send a letter to your college. Make sure to focus on what you LEARNED from it- not how difficult the classes are. </p>
<p>Not sure which college you're looking at, but don't dismiss your application because of your sem grades. You can't do anything more but wait, hope, and maybe send a little more info about yourself. Every college looks at sem grades differently, so maybe look into that for your school. You may wish to take the SAT II's in tose subject areas to prove that your class is of a higher level. Even if you are not "naturally talented" in those areas, working hard should at least prepare you for the relatively basic level of the material on the tests.</p>
<p>Hmm, will such a letter help much? Its an interesting idea.. I'm in the same boat, our classes are WAY harder.. I mean, I doubt adcoms take a look at the actual tests the teachers give us, or know how much homework it is. Oh my.</p>
<p>schools DO look at your senior year grades, but they look at them in comparison to the rest of your transcript</p>
<p>have you always gotten lower grades in harder classes? or higher grades in easier classes? how many AP's have you taken? how difficult is your school? have you ever had a D before? Or have you always had straight A's with only these two random D's? also, how did you do in your other senior year classes? does your transcript show a record of you having difficulties in government/math classes? all these factors will be considered when adcoms are evaluating your application, along with many others.</p>
<p>no, it isn't a good thing that you got D's and colleges will see that. However you won't be thrown right into the reject pile, and all of your other grades from the rest of high school will be considered</p>
<p>Had to send out mid-year reports KNOWING that one grade is wrong...however it will take months (I know this from past experience) to get it changed and have it reflected on the "official" transcript. So once I get it fixed I'll have to email every college applied to if it isn't already too late. Sucks!</p>
<p>Celita, I hate to use the redundant phrase "it can't hurt," but I think it's absolutely true in this situation. My letter basically explained that, although my two science grades were a bit low, they were, in fact, college classes. I also made sure to mention that my senior year goals, and that I did this by challenging myself more in Science (for which I am not a "natural" learner). I also mentioned how I learned from the experience (without saying it, a bit of a failure), and how I will use what I learn to be an asset to the university.</p>
<p>"is getting two random Ds good or bad?
considering the fact that it's an AP (??)"</p>
<p>It's bad. Colleges will either assume that you're on a downward slide or that you don't know how to handle situations in which you struggle academically. For instance, you could have dropped to easier courses or have gotten tutoring.</p>
<p>Some colleges care only about gpa, not about whether or not you take APs.</p>
<p>I can't think of any way that you can explain your 2 Ds to colleges and help boost your chances of admission. Make sure that you apply to some colleges that really are safeties -- and will continue to be safeties after they see your current grades.</p>
<p>Well, the two Ds aren't my official grades yet...
i still have the rest of the month to work on it hopefully to boost it up to a C (that's probably the best I could get..)</p>
<p>As long as your an awesome bassoon player, no college will care right? ;D
Jk. But back on topic, I don't really think most colleges view the midyear report as heavily as most people think. I read about how a kid called Cornell or some other Ivy and told them that he forgot to turn in his midyr report and they were like "Don't worry. We don't really look at them anyway." So don't freak out so much about things you can't really change and that might not even matter. :D</p>
<p>WELL...
just by looking at the national uni rankings, the top is U michigan, and the lowest is Boston U, and i have like 10 more colleges in between.</p>
<p>Talk with your HS guidance counselor. My child took way too many AP's this (senior) year and has a D in AP Calculus. He is normally an A/B student with a C in math (1st semester/A second) freshman year and a C in math sophomore year (1st semester/A second) . Several very good LACs (top 30 according to US news) are interested in him (the athletics is the hook in his case-Div III). The guidance counselor has agreed to write a personal letter about him as a member of the school community, the fact that this HS is demanding (AP exams are not optional here, several students go to ivies each year, 92% go to 4 year college after graduating, average (50%ile) GPA is 3.6 weighted, and, there is no other option for math (no non-AP calculus). The counselor has done letters in the past and believes that as long as everything else is strong (A/B), the colleges will just see this as a kid who took on too much. My take is that colleges are more concerned if they see the whole front crumbling. That suggests emotional problems or immaturity.</p>