Throughout my high school years I received almost all A’s and a few B’s here and there in AP classes. I attend the best #1 high school in my state (Louisiana), and finished all my core classes by the end of my junior year. I will graduate with 8 AP credits and currently I have a 28 on the ACT without writing but I retake the test with writing next month (My projected score is a 32). My extracurricular activities and volunteer hours are also strong displaying a sense of leadership and intimate focus with only a few clubs for all four years. Last year I decided to take a very hard class because I am very intrigued by math and have always excelled in the subject. The class was AP Calculus BC and when my grade began to sag to a middle B I sought out tutoring with my teacher. Although, right before my calc exam my grandfather unexpectedly passed away (I’m actually focusing on this specific moment in my life for the common app prompt because I was very close to him) and I got a failing grade and my grade dropped straight to a high D because exams are worth 25% of our final grade. My school has a no retake policy and refuses to remove the grade from my transcript. My unweighted GPA is still at 3.837, but I’m worried this will hinder my ability to attend certain colleges such as Barnard, Fordham, Scripps (all my reach schools). Any suggestions or outlooks on what I should do to better let colleges know my specific situation? Please help! What should I do? Any urban, liberal art colleges with tons of financial aid for homeless high school students that might accept me despite this discrepancy?
One D will likely not kill you- it might hurt at some of the top LACs you are looking at, but it is only one grade in a very difficult class.
I think you should move on from this one bad grade and focus on finishing strong in senior year. You can have your guidance counselor explain the circumstances in her school report, but if you talk about it you must be careful to not present it in a “woe-is-me” style.
I agree with the post above. Move on, but make sure you explain somewhere on the Common App the extenuating circumstances of the grade.
On a side note, I would advise you to be cautious when writing about your grandfather. Make sure you focus on your relationship and how it made you a better person, not on him. I’ve heard too many stories from admissions councilors about reading an essay like yours and by the end, wanting to admit the grandfather rather than the student.
Thanks you both for the comments. The prompt I’m picking is “Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.” I’ll try to focus more on how the event affected me now though rather than the kind of person he was. That was very helpful advice. I do feel like after this happened I grew up a lot, but would it still sound like I’m feeling sorry for myself though?
So you are homeless and need a full ride scholarship? There are opportunities for you if you can significantly improve your ACT score. Probably the best known is University of Alabama which is extremely generous to high scoring students. Read and post on the scholarships forum–there are many knowledgeable parents on this site who can give you good advice. I would be far more worried about how you will pay for college than a single bad grade in calculus.
Also, just wondering, if you’re homeless, don’t you need a paying job rather than volunteering?
Mathyone, yes I’ve done a lot of research on financial aid opportunities and scholarship opportunities. I do work but it doesn’t affect my ability to work in school which is why I didn’t add that. I work about 4 days a week and since my company doesn’t open on Sundays, I volunteer on Sundays. There are about 62 schools that offer the total amount of financial aid a student needs. Every single one of the schools I have chosen either have full ride options or have declared that they completely pay the needed price calculated by FAFSA. Two schools I’m applying to only require a 26 (Trinity College and American University), if I got into those I would have a good chance of going for free. Although, I will say this, some colleges care more about transcripts than standardized tests scores or even prioritize essays over any grades.