<p>My overall stats (before averaging senior year): 3.4GPA and 1320 (1600) SAT. I finally pulled it together this past semester, however my English teacher is killing me.</p>
<p>My mid- year transcript is 6As and 1 C+ (AP English). Should I send a letter to colleges addressing the C? My AP English teacher is ridiculous, last year she gave no As; this past semester she gave 1 A. Compared to the other AP English teacher at my school her class averages are significantly lower and the grade distribution is very much skewed. My AP teacher 15 percent As and Bs; the other AP teacher 90 percent As and Bs.</p>
<p>Should I address this issue or will it sound like whining? Any and all thoughts are appreciated?</p>
<p>I don’t think that C+ will hurt you because:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You have A’s in everything else, and presumably had good English grades in years past.</p></li>
<li><p>You scored very high in the verbal section of the SAT. Hopefully you did well in the essay section as well – this is a case where they might actually consider that section.</p></li>
<li><p>Write a very good college essay; it will be evaluated carefully by selective colleges.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have a teacher doing a recommendation who can attest to your writing ability, all the better.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I wouldn’t try to explain that this is a particularly hard or unfair teacher.</p>
<p>I would advise against sending a letter - it could hurt you more than help you. As jgsurdna says, there are other qualifications that colleges will take into consideration, and just one class won’t kill you. Also, since you are in AP, work hard at getting a good grade on the AP, as I’m sure they will care more on what you get on that rather than in your AP class.</p>
<p>I’d ask your college counselor if he/she will write a letter. We had an impossible advanced calc. Gave mostly C’s, but some D’s (and this is for kids who were usually A students). My school sent a letter for all students in his class explaining his grading…</p>