Question for Cal States

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I have quite a problem here. I recieved a D+ on an English IB HL class for the 1st semester of my senior year. I immediately asked Cal State Pomona (Cal Poly) of how they would view such a grade. They replied that all my English classes must have a grade of C- or higher. I was wondering if having the D+ totally ruined my chances of getting into the school as a freshman, and I was also wondering how grave the UC schools would look at the grade as well.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the help, it's much needed.</p>

<p>-Stephen G.</p>

<p>as far as i know, cal states and UCs don't give credit for english unless you get a C- or better. they also require that you take 4 years of english, so if you don't pass any one of your english classes, then that means that you didn't satisfy the minimum requirements for enrollment.
i've seen cases where a student failed a class his senior year but was allowed to enroll in a school. this was because the class he failed wasn't a required class (ie 4th year of math when 3 is needed).
i think the best choice would be for you to ask your teacher to adjust your grade. if pomona goes strict with the rules, they could reject you.</p>

<p>what if i have a teacher who won't adjust my grade. Is it weighted differently if its an IB class? What other options do I have?</p>

<p>buuuuummpppp</p>

<p>I think that'll impair your chances (more so at the UCs), but if you're overall a great applicant, they might overlook it. Getting your teacher to change it after the test is the most you can do, I think. They look at the unweighted grade. Why'd you get such a low grade? Did you just slack off? Did something go wrong at home? Grades are meant to show work ethic, so if you still have that yet you received a bad grade, you can explain it to the colleges.</p>

<p>The grade certainly did not come from bad work ethic, but from other circumstances. I spoke with my English teacher regarding the bad grade, and she says there is no way she will change it whatsoever. However, she DID say that Cal States only view the last grade of senior year, so if I don't recieve a D this semester, I should be good to go. Does anyone know if this holds true or not? Thanks.</p>

<p>For some UC schools, that D can be the death of you (sorry- harsh but true). For Cal States, it depends. What do you mean by "last grade" do you mean progress report? If you do, then as long as you get a C as a final grade, you'll be fine. Another thing you could do it talk to someone in at the Cal State school and explain about what happened, perhaps get another letter of recommendation from a teacher/councilor explaining the situation. Also you could try to "clean up the grade" by enrolling at a community college/summer school to make up the grade. Then you should be fine.</p>

<p>But first talk to someone at the Cal State about your options, you might be able to come to a compromise with an admissions representative.</p>

<p>Good luck, Stephen!</p>

<p>Thanks. By last grade i mean the final grade you get for second semester. What I've heard was that Cal States count THAT grade, not 1st semester's (where I got a D)</p>

<p>Friend got D+ in trig/pre-calc for semester grade, missed C- by 1 point! Teacher would not change grade. When mom called Cal State Fullerton to report is, they said he would be recsinded because Fullerton had a very strong app pool this year. HOWEVER, the school counselor got involved and called admissions and explained the fact he had been going to tutoring and had been trying to improve his grade but it was a little too late. Also that he missed the C- by 1 point. Admissions gave him another chance, he has to get better than a C- for 2nd semester. Another friend last year got recsinded from Long Beach because she got a D 2nd semester in Chem but it was a required lab class for her admission. Her Avid teacher got involved on her behalf and she had to take first semester over in summer school. She is now at Long Beach. So the moral of this story is call your college and then try to get help from a counselor or someone if they rescind you. I think admissions might work with you but you need to take charge and do it now so you know what you have to do instead of trying to guess. Since it is English and a required class, you need to let them know, maybe they will work with you. Best of luck to you!</p>

<p>amy1can's advice is right on. Call the school and find out what you can do. Be specific about the subject, grade and semester. I know several people who were able to make up the course, or substitute another in the same subject, in summer school. One thing you can be sure of is they won't ignor a D in a required course. They do look at each semester's grades, not just year end. Most likely they will work with you on this, but you won't know until you get in direct contact with someone who can answer and direct you. It will take some effort on your part to get to an administrator or counselor at Cal Poly, but stick with it. You still have time to fix this (summer school or an online course if they will accept that). Good luck.</p>