My chances with a C+ in AP calculus BC?

<p>I got a C+ in AP calculus BC in the first semester of the senior year. This is very bad, I know. I took five AP courses and simply did not have time to practice the calculus. I had planned to apply to some ivies but now what is my chance? I have SAT/2260, ACT/35, UW GPA/3.85 and W GPA/4.25, ordinary ECs, a few awards.</p>

<p>I literally have the same dilemma. Sorry this isn’t a response…I was wondering this, too! Ughh those dang mid year reports.</p>

<p>AP Calculus BC is a very difficult course, and the Cornell adcoms know this.</p>

<p>However, unless you have a legitimate excuse for getting a C+ (illness in the family, etc.), Cornell will not look favorably upon that grade. More than likely, it’ll significantly reduce your level of competitiveness in the RD applicant pool. Many, many students have senior year courseloads as challenging or more challenging than yours, and most of those students have perfect or near-perfect marks.</p>

<p>Cornell academics are killer, so the adcoms want proof that you can handle challenging courses starting now. If you can’t keep your head above water in high school, they’ll harbor very reasonable doubts that you’ll be able to do so at an Ivy League university.</p>

<p>One class is not critical. If it is your best subject and you plan to major in math…</p>

<p>The people without one low grade are often careful about what classes they take or at schools where the grade of C has been banned.</p>

<p>What school are you applying to? What are you planning on majoring in?</p>

<p>The severity of a bad grade depends greatly on your answers to the above questions.</p>

<p>Send me a PM with ALL of the details and I’ll help you out.</p>

<p>If you can get a 5 on the AP test I think you’re fine. I go to Cornell and the academics aren’t difficult (yet).</p>

<p>Thank you all for your reply. I am applying to a science major (biology or chemistry). My SATII is biology/790, chemistry/800, mathII/750. I am very good at math as I won several math contests. For the particular calculus BC course, the teacher was strict and required us to invest tremendous amount of time to practice in order to perform well in the timed final test. Unfortunately I cannot afford the time partly because I have many AP courses, and partly because I have family issues. Now this C+ grade will appear on the mid-year report and I do not know what damage it will cause.</p>

<p>alanhouston – I’m sorry, but from my observations, that’s simply not true. I go to a school where many students with perfect GPAs have elected to take 5+ challenging AP classes in both junior and senior year. Our AP English classes are especially notorious for ruining class ranks. I have friends who are taking AP Physics in conjunction with AP Government, Organic Chemistry, and AP English IV whilst applying to top-tier schools – and doing very well in all of them.</p>

<p>These students are not necessarily the smartest students in the school, but their work ethic more than compensates. I can also assure you that the grade of C has not been banned for us, nor will it ever be.</p>

<p>ForeverFish – so any of your students got grade C in AP courses and received disastrous results in college admission?</p>

<p>I’ve got to say – I am constantly amazed by high school kids giving advice about what admissions officers do and don’t care about. I go to Cornell and have had countless conversations with students here about their apps and scores. Does a C+ make it a little more difficult? Sure. But it doesn’t come close to sealing your fate. You reported a UW GPA of 3.85. If that includes your Calc grade, I’d say you’re in decent shape. </p>

<p>Admissions to Cornell is difficult. Oftentimes it seems like a roll of the dice. Your scores, ECs, and course rigor make you a good match for Cornell. The C+ certainly doesn’t help, but it doesn’t come close to ruining your application. </p>

<p>Relax – finish of the next quarter strong, and submit a supplement essay. Most importantly, don’t obsess over what High School Seniors on College Confidential tell you about admissions at Cornell. They know even less than I do (which isn’t vey much).</p>

<p>Unfortunately, most of my fellow seniors have not yet completed their RD applications, so I can’t give you exact numbers on grades vs admissions to competitive schools. What I CAN tell you is that, in past years, students from my school accepted to Ivies, Stanford, and MIT have had the most competitive stats you can imagine, whether academic or athletic. I can also tell you that everyone’s opinion of “disastrous results” differs – not getting into an Ivy League university is not exactly a travesty.</p>

<p>Many, many high school seniors frequent the threads here on CC, so I’m not sure what answers you expected when you posted this question. A public forum definitely isn’t where you’d go to ask an admissions officer for help – not that they’d be likely to give you a direct answer. Top-tier schools will sometimes rescind acceptances for C’s on midyear and final reports, so make of that what you will.</p>

<p>I’ve given you the best answer I can. Best of luck in whatever your college path may be, OP. I won’t post on this thread again, since my opinion seems to be quite unpopular among the more educated CC users.</p>

<p>ForeverFish, some very good high schools still give some C grades to even their top students. A class of 20 students, all headed to top colleges, might see 5 get a C, 6 get a B, and 7 get an A and 2 get an A+. The median grade on the Final might be 83, not 110. It is called having “standards”. </p>

<p>At another high school, 10 get an A+ and 10 get “just” an A.</p>

<p>Colleges have good reason to be skeptical about a high school where even the laziest and most inept senior gets only A grades in every class.</p>

<p>A high school senior who was accepted early at an Ivy League college was given an F on his term paper. The paper was good, but it lacked depth. His teacher wants him to up his game before leaving high school. Giving everyone an A grade insults those few who actually did work that was substantially superior to that of their classmates.</p>

<p>There are many students at Cornell who got a C grade in some high school class. Few Cornell students get through their first year without a C or two, or three. In the big leagues, you will not always bat 1.000.</p>

<p>if your major uses calculus a lot (STEM, econ, etc.), you’re pretty much boned.</p>