<p>Hi,
My son is quite interested in applying early admission here. He has lots of EC activities, great grades (3 of 400), and falls within the Amherst SAT score range. I won’t give a full list like on the “chances” thread because my question applies more to his senior year…</p>
<p>Currently, he is taking AP Spanish, AP English, European History Honors, AP Calculus, DECA, World and National Affairs (A college prep history elective class), and a college level science class due to scheduling conflicts.</p>
<p>He has an A or an A+ in all of these classes with the exception of calculus; he has a D+ in this class. He intends to apply ED, but doesn’t know how this will affect him. If he drops, it will simply read “Class dropped/pass” leaving him open to take an elective like creative writing or philosophy. Even though he is certain he wants to be an English major, I am wondering whether having 3 years of math will hurt his chances of admission. Or, would it be better for him to struggle for a C- in an AP math?</p>
<p>I haven’t gone through the college admission process in 30 years, so any advice here would be welcomed.</p>
<p>I have spoken with the folks at Amherst about this issue in the past...I think a D+/C- will make it tough for him---does Amherst require 4 years of math or is 3 ok?</p>
<p>3 years are required, but 4 are recommended. He has also only taken 3 years of a science because of poor scheduling, but his guidance counselor has already contacted them about that matter...</p>
<p>So, it is better then to have the A+ in something he wants to major in as opposed to a D+/C- in an AP math?</p>
<p>My instincts would be it's better not to show 4 years of Math if the last year is a D+, but to have 3 years an additional high grade in a 'solid' - my sense is the D+ will hurt a lot.</p>
<p>He's really just annoyed because this marking period was apparently based on about 3 assessments. He's sure he can get it back to a B+ or A- for next marking period, but he doesn't know whether Amherst will appreciate this improvement in an AP class, or just see the D.</p>
<p>I bet his school is like ours - they see the semester grade, not the individual report card reporting period grades. If he can get it up, then it would be a C or B, right (for the semester)? The C won't help. The B probably wouldn't matter.</p>
<p>Semester grades won't truly matter until later if he is applying ED to Amherst, in which case the admissions office would like to see quarter grades.</p>
<p>If your son is ranked 3rd in his class, he clearly has excellent grades and the like. Though Amherst is a very prestigious and high ranked liberal arts institution, admissions officers are HUMAN. They know people make mistakes. Assuming your son has had all As in high school, perhaps the occassional B, I personally wouldn't think a D+ will strongly lower his chances. I'll admit, his chances drop a bit, but I think Amherst would rather see an academically challenged (and dedicated!) applicant, one who sticks with that hard Calc class regardles of how poor he/she does. Amherst knows it's senior year. Amherst knows people make mistakes. </p>
<p>So don't worry. If I were your son, I would just keep on keeping on with math, perhaps explain in his application why he got a D+ and explain how he intends to change it and how it has affected his academics. It's not worth freaking out over. Just keep working hard.</p>
<p>I agree with Oni. The fact that your son does well in everything else is an indicator that he is not a slacker, that he is actually trying. In this case, I think it's better to show that he's challenging himself than not taking any math at all.</p>