<p>Alright, long story short, I got a D, retook it and got an A. The D is excluded from my high school GPA calculations, and I'm first out of over 600 people. BUT they still show it on my transcript with the attempted credits erased.</p>
<p>Here's my question:</p>
<p>Will Harvard ignore the D and look at the re-take grade, or will it look at both? If they look at both, am I screwed? I keep getting different answers. My counselor told me it's a non-factor since I retook it, but I don't believe her.</p>
<p>I apologize if anyone has read this multiple times. I'm going crazy over it.</p>
<p>Harvard’s school form II supplement requires counselors to signify any retaken classes, it does not show the grade though, just that you retook it.</p>
<p>There is no point in getting anxious about this. You can’t change what happened with the class, in the past, but you made up for it by retaking and doing well. Some would see that as admirable.</p>
<p>You or your guidance counselor can write a eot explaining, if there was a good reason, but otherwise leave it alone. </p>
<p>Did you happen to read that the head of admissions at Harvard spent his freshman year of high school skipping school (55 days out of 180) to hang out in the woods with friends? He retook an entire YEAR, switching schools and redoing 9th grade.</p>
<p>Relax, and if you don’t get into Harvard, don’t assume this is why. Be prepared to like lots of schools, apply, and then take advantage of the experience wherever you land. It could be Harvard, or any one of many really wonderful schools.</p>
<p>So, the general consensus here is that it isn’t a deal breaker, right?</p>
<p>I mean, it might hurt a bit, but can easily be made up for with a high SAT score, ECs, and rank? If it counts for anything, I’m on pace to get valedictorian…</p>
<p>I’ve heard so many opinions…</p>
<p>“Dealbreaker”
“They only look at the higher grade”
“Worse than an A, but better than a B”
“Admirable”
“Can be made up for”</p>
<p>the fact that you retake a course makes it pretty obvious you didn’t do well the first time…but it also makes you look like someone with initiative and potential
good luck</p>
<p>I posted the article on Harvard admissions two days ago, here, and someone else posted it in the parents’ forum. It is a short article with some other interesting comments. For one thing, Fitzsimmons says that a kid can learn as much working at McDonald’s as he or she can learn at an exotic summer program. He is responsible for the sort of populist trend in Harvard admissions.</p>
<p>Fitzsimmons did switch schools after that freshman year in the woods (!) and redid 9th grade, so I guess you could say that his transcript was clean.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I got a 2010 as an eighth grader, but I don’t think I can break 2300 right now as a tenth grader. Maybe another year? I doubt it.</p>
<p>The Harvard admissions committee will look at whatever information they have in front of them. They might be curious about this but I don’t think this one factor will tip the scales for or against you.</p>
<p>Me too,i got a C- in my AP government class first term and i want to retake it to get a A,hope the C- won’t be a big factor for harvard admission office.</p>
<p>Your SAT score is gonna matter a lot more so I’d focus my time and energy into that.</p>
<p>They are looking for great all-around applicants - leaders, geniuses, whatever. I have a feeling a lot of leaders and geniuses got a D once. But do you distinguish yourself in other ways? That’s the question.</p>