Senior Year not looking too bright so far...

<p>I'm not exactly having a great senior year so far, really stressed with the whole "making a good first semester" attitude as far as grades go.</p>

<p>I have a b+ in gov, which I am hoping to get a A- in. (Project screwed me over, had a solid A)
and then LIFEGUARDING a B+ b/c tests are really annoying and each question is like 10 pts...</p>

<p>AP Eng is a B which is alright...and AP Calc AB is P/F.
So pretty much, my only A's are in Art/Bible..which is somewhat pathetic for me..</p>

<p>So yeah, i'm just hoping colleges don't take me as slacking, I really don't think I am, just a multitude of problems that result in my grades (at least for calc/eng/lgard)
Any others in similar situations, or know what I'm feeling??</p>

<p>any sort of encouragement would be great. ha. peace</p>

<p>Your facts don’t tell us anything b/c you haven’t shared your projected culm GPA after this semester nor the sorts of colleges you’re targeting.</p>

<p>sorry. did not really think of doing that.
dream: duke
others: gtown/tufts/bc/umich… around those rankings
Cumulative gpa: 3.81 with a pretty strong upwards trend.</p>

<p>I would suggest that when you decided to take AP Calc AB as a Pass/Fail option, you pretty much eliminated yourself from the competition at Duke, Georgetown and possibly others on your list. Hopefully you are in-state for UMich, or that is probably off your list as well.</p>

<p>It sounds like, based on “pretty strong upwards trend”, that your freshman and/or sophmore grades were not as strong.</p>

<p>A 3.81 is a commendable achievement - congratulations on your success. However, admissions is so competitive that you need to be realistic about your chances at tippy top schools.</p>

<p>@rmldad</p>

<p>why would taking ap calc ab as p/f be bad? I guess its’ questionable - but since only 3 years are required at my school, i had no regular calc to take, and the fact that like only 20 students take AP calc, might help me.</p>

<p>and yeah, im very “not getting hopes up” for any schools. I’m international. We shall see how it goes - i am more interested in understanding viewpoints for current grades. In the end, at least I’ll have a couple of UC’s to fall back upon. </p>

<p>thanks a lot.</p>

<p>Highly selective colleges aren’t looking for students who select high school courses in consideration of the minimum requirement. They want students who pursue the most rigorous curriculum available and then excel at those classes. </p>

<p>By definition, taking a class P/F means that you are opting for a less rigorous route for completing the class. Further, AP Calc AB is a class that most applicants to Duke take as juniors, not seniors.</p>

<p>Remember, you are not competing against the other students in your school, but the best and brightest students from across the country and around the world. You might be the best student that you high school has ever produced and still get rejected from many colleges.</p>

<p>hmm. thanks for the prompt response.</p>

<p>Encouragement? Sure - there are tons of great schools out there, not just those with the brand names that you have listed, where you will get a great education, have a fantastic experience, and potentially find your future. Hopefully, you applied to some of them so that if your reaches and matches don’t come through, you will have the good fortune to attend one of them. Know that in the fall, the ‘bragging rights’ that brand name school admissions represent, will drop in value like a rock. Thereafter you’ll be surrounded by people who are excited and happy to be at whatever school you are attending, and since they are going to be your friends and peer group for the next four years, they are the ones whose opinion will matter to you. </p>

<p>I’m not saying you won’t get into a match or reach school - you might. But the attitude you want to cultivate is one of excitement and enthusiasm for your safeties.</p>

<p>Did you apply anywhere where your stats give you a good shot at getting in and that you really want to go to? There are lots of schools that are great and are just a little less selective than the ones you mentioned above. True “matches”. I hope you have some and if not, get going and apply to some. There is no reason to have a set of reach schools and safeties with nothing in the middle!</p>

<p>Yes I do - but I am still afraid that with this possible first semester of snr. year rolling in I won’t be as competitive as I had been.</p>

<p>Still looking for some good schools though!</p>

<p>You would need to supply more info for people to give you suggestions on schools. test scores, how many AP courses have you taken versus how many your schools offers, what majors you are interested in, are you applying for financial aid, preferences for location/size/etc.</p>