<p>My reasons for it are logical, but still sort of suggest 'laziness' on my part.</p>
<p>How much will this affect my application? And I'm not applying to the Ivy League or anything. My GPA without the 'F' is still pretty bad (without the 'F' it would be a 3.28; with the 'F' it is 3.20 weighted). The most selective schools on my list are Lafayette, Wake Forest, St. Olaf, and Rhodes. I have a few safeties in Hendrix, Illinois Wesleyan, etc.</p>
<p>Oh yes, the class was in Honors Trig during my junior year. I am retaking the Trig course this year (my senior year), but my transcript will still show the 'F' because I haven't had the chance to retake the semester I made an 'F' in (which was, obviously, the second semester). I am also concurrently enrolled at my local university and taking Advanced Calculus. </p>
<p>Do you guys think the fact that I'm taking a Calculus course at a university will perhaps override the 'F'? And if not override it, then at least make the situation...not so bad?</p>
<p>What is your unweighted GPA as is stands now with the F on the transcript? your SAT/ACT scores. You said without the F you have a weighted GPA of 3.28. Not high for a weighted GPA. (generally, no weight is given to any course with a D or an F.)</p>
<p>With the F, my GPA is 3.12 unweighted and 3.20 weighted.</p>
<p>Without the F, my GPA is about 3.20 unweighted and 3.30 weighted.</p>
<p>My SAT is a 2030 (650CR, 700M, 680W-9). And I have less than spectacular EC's to the say the least. I was a member of three clubs (political, philosophy and ping pong), and I played high school baseball.</p>
<p>Oh yes, and with the F my class rank is top 25% out of 600.</p>
<p>If it makes you feel any better, my SAT scores are lower than yours and I have one quarter wherein I got an F in English, but I've still gotten into a couple of colleges so far and have had a huge upward trend since then. Some even gave merit money. : ) You should be okay; maybe not at Wake Forest, but they're picky anyway.</p>
<p>I don't think you have a very good chance with your reaches, unless you've done really well in basketball (well enough to show potential and passion). You might be fine at Lafayette, but not wake or rhodes.</p>
<p>I don't think Lafayette is too likely. Not just because of the "F" but because of the GPA, class rank and minimal ECs. Pretty good SATs won't offset the other negatives IMO. Lafayette also places a big emphasis on the student's demonstrated interest, which means visiting the school and interviewing.</p>
<p>If it makes you feel any better, my SAT scores are lower than yours and I have one quarter wherein I got an F in English, but I've still gotten into a couple of colleges so far and have had a huge upward trend since then. Some even gave merit money. : ) You should be okay; maybe not at Wake Forest, but they're picky anyway.</p>
<hr>
<p>Which colleges if you don't mind my asking?</p>
<p>SUNY Potsdam and Fredonia, Elmira College, and all evidence points that I am going to be in at DePauw University, Bard College and Penn State University Park.</p>
<p>and what might your reason be for the F anyway</p>
<hr>
<p>I got a 'C' the first semester. So my counselor, looking at my already-low GPA recommended that I retake the class altogether to get my 'C' up to an 'A'.</p>
<p>So, since I knew I was going to retake the class my senior year, I thought, "How would the grade I get in the second semester matter?"</p>
<p>So, thinking my grade wouldn't matter, I decided to do absolutely no assignments in the class. My grade was literally a zero percent. My Trig teacher knew what I was doing (he knew I was going to retake the class), so he was fine with it. And I did attend class and pay attention, but I just didn't do the assignments, because I knew I was going to retake it.</p>
<p>Well, as I recently found out, despite the fact that I'm retaking the class this semester, the 'F' will remain on my transcript until I complete retaking the class. And since I obviously won't complete the semester for another five months or so, the 'F' went on my transcript for the colleges.</p>
<p>I still have to time to explain via email to all of my colleges.</p>
<p>So what do you guys think? Are my reasons legit? After explaining what I have above (in a more serious-sounding manner) to my colleges, will the 'F' not look so bad?</p>
<p>SUNY Potsdam and Fredonia, Elmira College, and all evidence points that I am going to be in at DePauw University, Bard College and Penn State University Park</p>
<hr>
<p>Never heard of those...</p>
<p>I'm applying to DePauw too. Isn't Bard really really selective?</p>
<p>They are, and I was deferred, but I sent a letter explaining my grade trends and why I want to go to both Bard and Penn State that were pretty highly regarded by the current students I asked to look it over. Bard especially is about more than grades, and DePauw is really forgiving, too. I actually just had a phone interview with the latter today, and the admissions counselor asked about my grades, and I explained it to him, too, and he said it was a good reason, etc. If you just explain your circumstances to these institutions, maybe you'll be okay.</p>
<p>I shouldn't have to tell you this, but college isn't all about prestige. All summer and most of the first quarter, I was sulking and mourning that I would have no chance of getting into places like Yale and Swarthmore and Carnegie Mellon because of the crappy grades at the beginning of my high school career; if you can find places that will accept your reasoning, that will forgive a bad grade in light of promising talent or motivation to do better on the university scene, you'll be happier. Besides, there's always grad school.</p>
<p>(In case you're wondering, the other places I applied -- Beloit, Goucher, Hobart, SUNY New Paltz, Vassar and U Arizona. Not necessarily the most prestigious places, no, but I'm worrying more about being happy and having fun for undergrad and getting into top 30 schools for grad school, personally.)</p>
<p>An F will exclude you from of course the Ivies, Tier 1s as well like BC, UC Berkeley, Brandeis etccc.... others might be in the options, but I think that community college is probably the best way to go for you if you can't handle high school work.</p>
<p>"If you just explain your circumstances to these institutions, maybe you'll be okay."</p>
<p>Well I really don't have any 'good' reasons for my low GPA other than my sheer laziness. I have a half-decent for the 'F', but not for my grades in general...</p>