I’m a senior in high school and I barely scraped a C in AP Calculus AB this past semester. My teacher told me that the class is going to get much harder next semester, and that it was very likely that I was going to get a D if I continued. But he also said that it was up to me whether or not I dropped out, as I did pass. On the one had, I really don’t want a D on my transcript, but on the other, it seems like these days, almost all colleges, even mediocre state ones, expect you to have taken AP Calculus. I plan to major in creative writing, so it’s not like Calculus is imperative to anything I’ll be studying in college, but I’m still afraid of getting revoked if I do switch out.
You may be a less competitive candidate w/o AP Calc. You may have your admission revoked if you don’t pass the class next semester. You decide…
I wish you the best, but this is misinformation and not even close to the truth.
i don’t know if a wd looks the same to a school on a final transcript.
Is it possible for you to take a community college class? A semester of stats would probably serve you better than limping through the rest of Calc and not scoring high enough on the AP test to get credit. At most colleges you’ll have some sort of math requirement, but stats would meet that and likely mean you wouldn’t have to take more math in college (which continuing in calc seems unlikely to accomplish at this point). A cc class semester would cover the same ground as a year of AP Stats, and then you wouldn’t be dropping math altogether.
Creative writing majors do not need to take calculus–unless, maybe, if you wanted to become a technical writer.
Stats should be easier & more useful.
If you stay in calculus, check out Khan Academy offerings.
If you withdraw from calculus you would have to inform all colleges that you have applied to and all colleges that have already accepted you. That said, getting a D or F in calculus can be grounds for any college admission to be revoked. I would probably drop the class rather than get a D or F as a final grade.
The question to ask yourself is have you been doing everything you can to do well in calculus to date (ex. dong all the homework seeking out help from the teacher, using online resources)? Do you understand the material well enough that you can expand on that knowledge next semester? Do you believe your teacher’s assessment is correct? And what are your options if your drop AP Calc (is there a non-AP/regular level calculus your teacher believes you can succeed in? is there a one semester math/stat class you can take?) Think about these questions, talk to your teacher and/or guidance counselor and then make a decision.
…" it seems like these days, almost all colleges, even mediocre state ones, expect you to have taken AP Calculus:".
That statement is not accurate. If you intend to study humanities, AP calculus is not expected. There are many things taken into consideration to create your best effort college application. When people say, take the more vigorous courses, they mean “you can handle”. Don’t take courses that result in you being “in over your head”.
A D in Calculus AP is not good. An A or even B in honor calculus will be better if that’s all you can handle. Believe, my D do not have any serious STEM APs and was accepted in highly competitive college. She studies humanities and the strength in her college application showed.
My question earlier is being missed, please allow me to clarify.
Naturally, a “d or f” is much worse than a good grade in an alternative math class.
But since the semester is finished, will the school have to post, in tandem, both the new “wd” for second semester and the poor first semester score.
Will that combo equate to the same thing to the admissions teams as a “d or f” to admitted or considering schools?
If so, wouldn’t getting the extra help and really focusing to get to a “c” in the current class be better than the guaranteed “bad read” or “f” equivalent of the ”wd” and grade combo? I really don’t know.
Very few do; see http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21642599/#Comment_21642599 .
However, if you drop a course that you previously reported to colleges as being in-progress, you need to report the drop as soon as possible. If you have already been admitted, you need to find out from the college where the drop will result in admission rescission or re-evaluation. Surprising the college with the course missing from your final high school transcript in the summer is more likely to lead to rescission.
Of course, earning a D or F grade is bad in the same way in potentially leading to admission rescission, especially if it comes as a surprise in the summer on your final high school transcript.