<p>Hi, everyone. :) So I am a senior this year and have finished all my college applications. I am currently taking 6 APs and a sport. However, I learned a little too late that this was a complete overload since I am currently failing AP Calculus and have a D in AP Physics B. All my other APs are okay, all high Bs and low As... But I was wondering... If I really can't pull my two failing grades back up to a C by the end of the semester, do you think I'll be rejected from the UCs? I'm trying so hard to pull through... But there literally is too much to do, too little time. And to be frank, I have never been the best at math, and both of these classes are incredibly math-based (I hate myself for taking both of them haha). </p>
<p>I have been a straight A student throughout my whole high school career up until now with 7 Honors/AP classes (13 if including senior year), two sports every single year, a handful of club positions, and over 300 community service hours. I had three counselors read my personal statements and they all agreed that they were very well written, so I don't think they would hurt my application in any way...</p>
<p>So basically my question is: Will the UCs disregard all of my achievements and reject me if I end up with two Ds among my 6 APs in my senior year? If so, is there anything I can do to fix it? Basically, do you think they'll be more lenient to a student like me, who just made a poor decision of overloading herself with all AP classes over a student who honestly did slack off and got under a C grade with mostly regular classes?</p>
<p>Also, how bad is it if I drop AP Physics and my sport for second semester? Since I am now off season, I would much rather use that period to go home and start homework. And as for physics, there is no way I can survive another semester in that class... So since it won't be what I submitted on my application, I will notify them of these changes. But would that also drastically affect my chances or possibly cause my rejection?</p>
<p>Please let me know of similar situations that you've heard of over the years. Any insight is appreciated! Thank you for your time... I'm just really nervous and would like some thoughts/reassurance. :) Thank you again!</p>
<p>FYI: Neither of these classes are related to my major. I'm hoping for UCLA/UC Berkeley. My overall GPA is 4.4 and I am in the top 10% at my school (not including senior year).</p>
<p>How the low grades will affect your application is somewhat speculative. The UC schools get lots of apps from kids who pass calculus and physics, so in that sense not so great. On the other hand it sounds like you have a pretty strong academic record even without these classes.</p>
<p>There is a different angle that’s much more important. Will you still be UC eligible if you don’t take/pass these classes? It’s one thing to speculate on the effect of low grades, but it is a certainty that if you are not UC eligible you will not be admitted. The UC schools require you to notify them if you change your schedule or if you get any grade lower than a C. So they are going to find out right away. And anyway they will find out when they see your final transcripts, at which point you would be rescinded if you try to hide this info.</p>
<p>Even though these classes are not related to your major, that will not help. The College of letters and science at UC schools does not admit based on major. They just lump everybody applying to the college together. You can see this by reading about the admission evaluation process on the admission websites.</p>
<p>One resource I’d like to suggest is the “Calculus Problem Solver” book. This is like a SAT prep book but focused on this one topic (they have them for many academic subjects). There are thousands of problems with solutions. You just find the chapter that matches what you are studying in class and start working, checking your answers against theirs. Learning a math or science subject takes lots of practice like this; in college someone taking calculus probably finds herself studying 6-9 hours per week for just that one class.</p>
<p>If the concepts aren’t clear, something else you can do is look at the free videos on the Khan Academy or download lectures (again, for free) from iTunesU.</p>
<p>This must be a stressful time for you. I hope it all works out.</p>
<p>They’ll take away your admission if you do horribly compared to your other years. UC’s generally don’t accept D’s, so push yourself to get that C- in class. Ask your teacher for extra credit or something, don’t risk it!
You should drop your sport, but still stay in AP Physics.</p>
<p>Thank you all for taking the time to leave some thoughts! You guys certainly brought up some good points…</p>
<p>@mikemac You’re right in that many others probably have just as many APs as me and are doing fine… But since UCs don’t judge senior year THAT harshly, let’s say I were admitted for my 9-11th achievements… Will they ~definitely rescind my acceptance once they are notified of these grades? Like, do you think I have a decent chance in keeping my acceptance if I do get it? I also do fulfill all my requirements, so I will be eligible no matter what. And thank you for that suggestion! I’ll definitely look into it. :)</p>
<p>@happymomofo1 My counselor is pushing me to drop either AP Physics or AP Calculus for second semester, so she’s making sure that I am prepared to write a letter to the UCs about that. My teachers are also trying to help me, but I feel like it’s hard for them to do so without being unfair and giving me “special treatment”, you know? I still have a couple tests left + finals, so I’m hoping I still have a chance…</p>
<p>@ayelewna Haha yeah, I certainly do hope extra credit will help me out… :'P</p>
<p>Thanks again for caring about this post! I definitely appreciate it! Any more comments are always welcome. :)</p>
<p>Senior year grades are not generally used in admission to UCs.</p>
<p>However, it has been reported that UCs’ admission offers come with conditions that include completion of previously reported senior year courses with sufficiently high grades, typically including no grades lower than C. Not meeting the conditions can result in admission being rescinded. However, some have reported successful appeals, at least if the D/F grade was in a course not needed for UC eligibility.</p>
<p>Oh, you’re right. Thank you for those links! So UCs do make exceptions for certain cases, right? Those UC SB standards sound very strict, though… I hope not all UCs are as strict as them… I just hope that the rigor of my senior year courses is a good enough a reason for my low grades. :(</p>
<p>You can appeal and hope that they will be lenient, but be prepared for a backup plan (e.g. community college, then transfer as a junior) since there is no guarantee that an appeal will be successful. Or attend a college which does not have such a condition.</p>
<p>But the best would be if you could bring up those grades to avoid the problem in the first place.</p>
Lets make sure we are using words the same way. Rescind (also called revoke) means that over the summer when a college sees your final transcript they notice you didn’t take all the classes you said you’d take or failed to pass all your classes and as a consequence they reverse their decision to admit you. This is a pretty bad thing since in July or August one has few other options for 4-year colleges.</p>
<p>But I don’t think what you are looking at is being rescinded. When this semester ends you will notify the UC campuses of your grades should they be less than a C, and also of your schedule changes. This is well before admission decisions are released. It will be a factor each campus uses in deciding whether to accept you or not (or revisit a decision before its release to you); but that is not being rescinded because you have not been admitted yet. Rescinding would be if they saw the grades on your final transcript and then took back your acceptance, but I don’t see why that would happen since they will know about these grades before they admit you. As to predicting what the result of your admission decision will be, I frankly have no idea since I don’t work in admissions. I do wish you the best, though.</p>
<p>You should have no regrets over accepting offers to help from your teachers. They want to see you succeed. If they are volunteering to help you then it is a decision they made of their own volition and there is no reason to second-guess them or be too prideful to accept it. </p>
<p>I think your counselor is right about dropping one of the classes. Note that if you drop calculus there is a problem-solver book for physics too (and many other subjects).</p>
<p>You had also mentioned dropping your sport in the spring so you can go home earlier. This might be a good idea, but you should talk thru this with your counselor to make sure it won’t affect your chances of admission. Again, this is something you probably have to tell the UCs about; certainly about the dropping of the class, I’m not so sure about its effect on what you’ve listed for ECs and other involvement.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus You’re right. I will do my best! haha</p>
<p>@mikemac: Oh yeah, thanks for correcting me on that… I didn’t realize that they would be notified of my grades way before they even decide acceptances. haha >_< Thanks for the link, btw! But yeah, I am accepting the offers my teacher give me, I just meant that they don’t necessarily want to give me such a BIG advantage that it’ll be unfair to the other students, that’s all. Yay! Thank you once again for the reassurance and support! Your comments are so thorough and incredibly helpful… You’re awesome!! haha. And I will definitely find one of those books asap! ahaha. </p>
<p>You guys were all very helpful; I will definitely remember these comments! For now, I will just do everything in my power to raise them back up to a C… Good luck to me… haha</p>
I thought that was part of what you are putting in your letter, and that you are sending that letter as soon as the semester ends. You need to notify them, it doesn’t happen thru someone else’s action.
<p>oh yeah, I knew that… It just kind of slipped my mind while I was thinking about all the different scenarios. Sorry for the confusion! Thanks for making me realize this, haha. :)</p>
<p>They also say somewhere else that they encourage you to put in an explanation, so this is something you’ll want to work with your counselor on so that it explains what happened without sounding like your making excuses or trying to avoid responsibility. From what you’ve written before, it sounds like this is what you are doing. Hope it all works out!</p>
You guys certainly brought up some good points…</p>
I still have a couple tests left + finals, so I’m hoping I still have a chance…</p>
Good luck to me… haha</p>