<p>Hi there, I'm new to this site, and have recently come across a rather...worrying dilemma(to me). As you may know, first semester for high school is basically over, and my grades currently look like this.</p>
<p>*Honors Chemistry - B
Language Class II - A
*Honors Pre-Calculus - C+
English 2A - A-
World History AP - A-
Physical Ed - A</p>
<p>This year proved to be hard for me for the first year, as I only was able to achieve a B in chemistry. However, what really really concerns me is that I got a C+ in Honors Pre-Calculus. I decided to take a Alg 2 Trig course over the summer, but when I came back to school and took the first two tests, I did badly, and evidently destroyed my grade in that class; I had no chance of recovery. Now however, I'm used to my studies and am hoping to get straight A's next semester, as well as in following years. This year was particularly hard for me at the beginning due to the skip and all. Basically, are these grades gonna destroy my chances of getting into a college like Berkeley or higher. (For example Stanford, Ivy League possibly? I'm mainly looking towards Berkeley however as it's closer to home and I have an interest in Sciences) I have clubs and sports as extracurricular, but I'm still awfully worried. That C+ means a lot to me and I would like to hear some advice on this situation. I'm afraid that colleges will simply assume that I didn't try in the first semester if I get straight A's for this upcoming semester. SAT/ACT aren't a worry here; it's mainly just GPA and future references. Any helpful advice is appreciated, and thanks for reading.</p>
<p>Short answer: No. One C grade will not destroy your “chances,” especially in the first -year.</p>
<p>Longer answer: All you can do is do your best. Take a challenging course load, participate in activities that interest you, and try to actually learn something and enjoy yourself. Honestly, this sort of worrying is not productive. </p>
<p>I do find it a bit amusing when students make predictions like they plan to get straight A’s in all future semesters. You don’t know that. Or as much as you like to believe that, there is no better evidence than past performance. </p>
<p>So just do your best. Have fun. Set aside time to prepare for standardized tests. In 2 years, we’ll have more advice once you have a longer record and some test scores. Berkeley may very well be a realistic choice. Or not. The great thing about living in California is there is a wide spectrum of excellent public schools. You are going to have outstanding choices.</p>
<p>harvard<em>and</em>berkeley: that is sage advice (for a lot of people reading this forum). This type of question arises again and again, and your answer is the best I’ve seen.</p>
<p>IMHO, a C+ or two won’t “destroy your chances.” But because it’s in pre-Calculus, it’s a warning sign.</p>
<p>One feature (or problem, depending how you look at it) with math is that the concepts are built on top of each other. If you don’t know the basics, it’s very difficult, or even impossible to grasp the more advanced concepts. If the problem not recognized and corrected early, math will become more and more difficult.</p>
<p>You have to understand that colleges look at a multitude of things, not just grades. However, one C won’t destroy your chances at getting into those schools. The valedictorian of my graduating class made all A’s, participated in only two academic clubs; JWAC and Academic Decathlon, was rejected from Harvard, Berkeley AND Stanford. However, a good friend of mine and president of Key Club, JWAC, 1st chair in our chamber orchestra, started a recycling program on our campus, captain of law team, got into Harvard. And she even made a couple of C’s, and she took all AP/Honors classes like you and was number 7 in our class. It’s good that you diversify your school activities, but be sure to keep up those grades and extracurriculars, and you will be fine!</p>