Hello. For those of you who don’t know, I am a current senior at Mira Costa High School in California. I have been a stellar student from grades 9-11, with all A’s and B’s. I did get my first C in a summer course, but I was not worried.
However, in my trigonometry class, I am scared for my life as I have a C- (71%) right now, and with the material getting harder, and the teacher being a sadist and moron (your entire grade is tests, homework doesn’t count for anything and the teacher doesn’t know how to teach), I am worried it will fall to a D!!! I can’t even imagine! Seeing all my hardwork since 2013 be destroyed! What will happen to me?!
*I have already been admitted with scholarship offers into:
Portland State University
University of New Mexico
Arizona State University
*I am still applying and have applied to:
University of Arizona
CSU Northridge
SFSU
UC Santa Cruz
UC Santa Barbara
UCLA
UC Berkeley
UC Riverside
*Will I get my admissions rescinded/revoked if I don’t get a C- or higher in trig??!!! I AM SO SCARED!!!
*I’d also like to point out that this is a class where no one has an A, about 14 people have Bs, and everyone else has a C or lower.
*Thank you!
Please get extra help after school, go to your school’s student support center, ask for a meeting with the teacher and maybe a parent to discuss the issues you are having difficulty with, and if possible, get a private tutor. If you are not understanding the material, it’s on you to do so. Presumably other students are doing okay in the class. The teacher may be bad, but unfortunately you still have to get through the class. No Ds.
You may not be a happy camper next year in college. Having your entire grade determined by 2 midterms and a final, or by a term paper and nothing else, is not uncommon. From personal experience I can tell you that you ought to steer away from UCs if you see this policy as sadistic.
Your attitude in which you refuse ownership of learning this material is the big issue here, not the teacher. While in a social sciences class the material can be subjective, and almost completely so in a literature class, in a math class like trig the material is cut-and-dried. So there are tons of online resources such as Khan Academy, ITunesU, etc. that could teach you the material. And there are workbooks such as https://www.amazon.com/Algebra-Trigonometry-Problem-Solvers-Solution/dp/0878915087 with thousands of worked problems; you cover up the answer and keep practicing problem after problem until you’re doing them right, and then the tests will take care of themselves.
Why does this ownership matter? In less than a year you’re going to be in college where nobody is looking over your shoulder to make sure you do the work or attend class. And past these nuts-and-bolts matters is the larger picture. Nobody is going to drag you to the career center, make you start planning for grad school or entering the work force, etc. Expecting someone else to own the responsibility isn’t the path to success, any more than it has been in this class.
As long as you have met the a-g course requirements, you might be OK with the Cal States on your list. I’d call today to verify.
The others will almost certainly rescind an admission if granted.
Mikemac is right, this isn’t an uncommon standard at many universities, including UCs and CSUs. While it is natural for a teen to assign blame to others, you gotta learn to look in the mirror and own your results sooner or later.