<p>I am so screwed. So I'm a pretty good student--I have a top 5% rank in my high school and I get As and Bs, except in AP physics! Last semester, I got a C and this semester I probably got a C or a very very low B (probably a C tho) and on my mid year exam I got a D. I could probably pull off a solid C for the year, but I really want to withdraw from this class. I've tried going after school, but I can't understand my teacher at all. Right now I'm a senior and I really don't want anyone seeing that D EVER. Should I withdraw from this class? It's the start of second semester and I believe I could find another class to take instead.</p>
<p>Will this D on my mid year exam show up on my mid year report that my school sends to my colleges? Or will they see a combined score, like an average from the exam and semester? Would the W on my transcript be better than a C for the year plus added stress?</p>
<p>Also, I really hate this class.
Please give me some good advice, I don't know what to do and I'm panicking a little.</p>
<p>You really need to talk to your counselor about withdrawing. At many schools you send a list of classes you intend to take senior year, and you can be rescinded for not taking them. Especially the hard-core academic ones. The schools you applied to are thinking they’re getting a student who takes and passes AP Physics, and that could be a factor that tips you into admit. When they get your transcript and find out you dropped it, that could be bad news. In fact many schools like the UC system require you to notify them if you change your list of classes.</p>
<p>As for a second piece of advice, how much time are you spending studying for this class? Math and science classes are not like history or other social sciences where you read the chapter a couple of times. They take work, and unfortunately lots of it. In college a rule of thumb is that a student taking 1st year physics would spend about 9 hours/week outside of class studying. And the real key to doing well in these classes is working problems. There is a book you should get called something like “The Physics Problem Solver”. Its like having a TA at your elbow, with thousands of worked examples. You turn to the chapter matching what your class is covering, then start solving problems and checking your answers until you’re getting them right.</p>
<p>If you are going to withdraw, then act quickly. My son wanted to withdraw from one of his language classes (he was just tired of it), but was told that since they were a full week into the semester that in order to withdraw he would have to take an F.</p>
<p>Your exam grade will only show on your transcript if your school puts exam grades on the transcript–it’s not a universal Yes or No answer. My school doesn’t put exams on the transcript (or even semesters); yours may.</p>
<p>I think my school sends them separately, but are guidance councilors ever flexible? would mine be willing to help me out and average the grades or only send out semester grades? do you think i should try for that instead of withdrawing, or is that something that will never happen?</p>
<p>I have to disagree with mikemac - while you are required in most cases to notify the schools if you change your coursework, substituting one class for another is generally not going to set off alarms. You hate physics? Fine, take some other science course. The school is not going to admit you or reject you because they “are thinking they’re getting a student who takes and passes AP Physics.” It’s a lot more complex and holistic than that, even at a state school that operates more ‘by the numbers.’ If you had reported that you were taking 5 AP courses, and then dropped 3 of them, the schools might feel that you were gaming them, or not really capable of that level of work, but one course more or less isn’t important.</p>
do you think i should try for that instead of withdrawing, or is that something that will never happen?</p>