Third quarter senior year failing grades

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Throwaway account here (sorry). Here's the situation. Throughout high school, I've gotten pretty much all As and Bs (mostly the former) and taken 12 total APs (plus one post-AP); my GPA that got sent off to unis was around a 3.9 (weighted). I was accepted to Virginia Tech and put on Carnegie Mellon's priority wait list.</p>

<p>That was all well and good, but throughout my senior year I've been dealing with some pretty serious depression due to circumstances beyond the scope of this topic (though I've mostly gotten over it over the past few weeks), and by the time third quarter rolled around I had pretty much let everything fall apart in all my classes. The worst hit was AP Lit: I got an F. I'm not sure about my other classes just yet, but in general they're down across the board. At the time this was all going on I'd convinced myself that I was just having a senior slump, that it wasn't serious, but seeing how things ended up it's pretty clear that disregarding everything wasn't just a little slacking.</p>

<p>My first semester grade in Lit was a C+ (mostly because I suck at analysing hidden meanings and stuff in literature). I've done the math, and if I can put in the work to get at least a C this quarter and at least a C on the final exam, I should be able to pull a C for my final grade ‒ only a small decrease from my first semester average. In spite of that fact, however, I'm not convinced a failing grade is something that should be taken lightly.</p>

<p>I'm going to speak with my teacher tomorrow morning, try and explain things, try and turn in work I disregarded at the end of last quarter, apologise for my complete apathy and constant tardiness, promise to work hard and show up on time for the rest of the year, etc. and see if there's any way he'd be able to bump me up to a D and keep the grade a D so long as I follow through on my word to treat his class like it matters to me ‒ but the probability of that being successful is dubious at best.</p>

<p>Whether or not my plan works out, what are some things I should be aware of and what are some things I should be proactive in? The worst possible thing I can see happening is a retroactive rejection from Virginia Tech (which was my only safety in the application process), in which case I'd end up stuck at a community college or something ‒ not a good place for a student like me to end up. Do schools even see my individual third quarter grades, and if so is it a standard practice to act in response to them without waiting to see the end result? If I'm basically screwed by this in terms of admissions, is there anything proactive or reactive I'll be able to do to salvage some sort of chance?</p>

<p>I guess what I'm really asking for is just general advice with regards to this situation. Thanks a lot for your help, and I'll post back tomorrow with an update after I speak with my teacher.</p>

<p>tl;dr: At least one F third quarter. Unsure as to how this will affect Virginia Tech admission. Advice requested.</p>

<p>Edit: Also, what does this mean for Carnegie Mellon? Is there any sort of standard protocol with regards to waitlisting and third quarter grades?</p>

<p>Crossposted</a> here.</p>

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<p>My suggestion to you is to call or e-mail Virginia Tech and explain your situation. Tell them that you’ve had some difficulty this quarter, and explain why, but tell them that you are on track to improving and it wont happen for fourth quarter.</p>

<p>Furthermore, don’t let it happen for fourth quarter. try to get all A’s and B’s, as you will have to mail your final transcript to them and they will see the grades.</p>

<p>As for waitlist, i’m not entirely sure. I know that schools mail out semester grades but i’m not positive about 3rd quarter.</p>

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<p>Thanks. I’ll speak to my guidance counsellor tomorrow, but are you sure giving VTech a heads up about my grades is really the best idea? My current thought is that I should only do that if they send me some sort of warning letter, thereby making it clear that they’ve actually seen my third quarter grades.</p>

<p>Thanks, yeah, I’m definitely going to work my ass off fourth quarter. It seems like I’ll have to for the most part disregard my other classes (to a reasonable extent) and make AP Lit my life. It should work out though, it seems.</p>

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<p>It’s up to you. Whatever way you choose, they will find out because they will get a transcript from you. You can either tell them yourself and explain, or you can wait for them to find out and hope that they decide not to mail you about it.</p>

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<p>No one sees your third quarter grades. They are pointless essentially. If you think you can bring it up to a C, then I would just do that and you would be fine. Of course, no college would do anything to you if you just got a C. But you definitely need to take AP lite seriously. Besides your college admission, if you don’t pass English then you can’t graduate.</p>

<p>In regards to the waitlist, they will ask for your final transcript, and even a C probably isn’t going to look so hot. I definitely think you chances for this school are down, but it’s still a possibility.</p>

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<p>Thanks. I think I should be fine; the F will average out and my other grades won’t end up too terrible. Disregard this, I guess.</p>

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<p>IF YOUR FINAL TRANSCRIPT HAS ANY D’s OR F’S you need to be worried. If only your semester or final grade shows with no D’s or F’s you should be OK. </p>

<p>Go to guidance and find out Monday exactly what is on the transcript. U’s require a final transcript from your high school after graduation for you to officially matriculate and start classes. If you have an F that shows up, your admission can be rescinded. And every year here on CC there are posts. IT DOES HAPPEN. And it happens with D’s</p>

<p>If you will have an D or an F on a transcript it is FAR BETTER to call the U and discuss what you can do about it ahead of time. Better to enter on academic probation that to try to hide it and then get rescinded before you ever get there, because at that point your screw’d.</p>

<p>People say all the time don’t worry about semester grades, but in the state of Florida now, ALL semester grades are on the transcripts, but not the 9 week grades. So. Find out what is on the transcript. And get that F to a C, what ever it takes.</p>