I’m a junior in high school who received a WF on my transcript for 2nd semester of AP Comp Sci (considered an elective at my school). First semester was fine, I got an A, but I did not want to take 2nd semester since I had to take a different mandatory class. However, at the beginning of the school year fall semester, we had to sign a contract that does not let us drop out of AP classes should we enroll in them.
My problem is that I only wanted to take AP Comp Sci A (since that’s what’s on the exam), and not the 2nd semester counterpart AP Comp Sci B, which is not on the exam. My counselor talked with me and said because of the contract, I have to receive a WF since I had to take a different class instead. This put a huge blow on my transcript since WF is essentially an F, 0 points when calculating GPA.
On the bright side, I’m looking to apply to UCs and found out that UC GPA is calculated differently than my high school transcript. Based on ( http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/q-and-a/calculating-gpa/#9 ) “a-g” courses with Ds or Fs can be replaced if the same or similar in context course is taken. My question is does AP Comp Sci count under “a-g?” I think it counts under “g” but I’m not entirely certain.
If so, can I replace the WF with a “similar in context” course such as taking a Comp Sci class over the summer at a community college? Based on the link, it says that new grade with a C or higher will replace a D or F.
Also, how would I explain my situation regarding the WF on the UC application?
Thanks
bump again, I’m still concerned about how this would affect my chances at UCs. I had an A in APCS first semester, but second semester this darn WF.
Will they think this is a downard trend and reject me? I had 2 Cs first semester (missed finals and got zeroes on them because of a family emergency), which turned into Bs second semester so I have no idea what it would look like to the admissions department.
You can look up your HS on this link to see where AP Comp Sci is listed. It usually listed in the “g” category meaning, it will be included in your UC GPA. http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
I agree, that I would contact UC admissions to verify how the WF would impact your UC GPA. Also, I hate to point out the obvious, but you were told in advance you would have a WF so why are you so concerned now after the fact?
After you look up the info Gumbymom suggested to find out what category the course is in at your high school,
send an email to askUC@ucop.edu – this is the centralized admissions office for the system and ask about replacement. Keep a copy of the response they send you. You’ll probably get an answer within a day.
@Gumbymom Whoops, I forgot to add some details about what went on since April. My school doesn’t list AP Comp Sci as an elective since it uses a third party online provider. The third party says only AP Comp Sci A is the"g" course, not part B. On my transcript, it only says AP Computer Science, no A or B, and it doesn’t even say that I took the course with the online provider. I only found out about what APCS looks like on my transcript this week.
I talked to a different counselor (my aforementioned one was on maternity leave) and she told me that UCs wouldn’t accept a different replacement course at community college, but I’d have to repeat the same exact course to fulfill the credits. My problem was that AP Computer Science B was obsolete; it’s not credited or offered by any schools anymore (I checked online ones too). When I initially signed up for AP Comp Sci at the beginning of the year, I assumed that the whole year was AP CS A, but my maternity leave counselor told me in March that I was taking AP CS B that 2nd semester, even though it was unaccredited.
At the same time, I was set to start an online AP Physics C course that lasted from second semester (April-ish) to July (this was the mandatory course mentioned in my initial post). My parents pulled me from the obsolete AP CS B so that I could focus on my grades and actually take relevant coursework in AP Physics C. My parents and I knew about the WF when I was pulled from AP CS B, but I was unable to replace the WF in AP CS B since no schools were offering it anymore.
I finished AP Physics C with an A grade, and got credited for that. I emailed ucinfo@applyucsupport.net after Physics C ended about this whole ordeal and the representatives told me that since I couldn’t replace APCS B (no institutions were offering the course), I should explain my situation in the additional comments section, the WF would count against my GPA, and that I should still report it on my application.
I’m still getting jitters about what kind of impression admissions will have about this situation, which is why I’m pretty concerned now. I’m even more frantic since I found out how APCS looks like on my transcript this week, and have no idea whether the APCS B will count in the first place since my school doesn’t list it under “g,” according to UCOP HS Articulation and also because the online provider isn’t listed on my transcript.
@arabrab I’ve already emailed ucinfo@applyucsupport.net, are they the same as askUC@ucop.edu? I need to email them now that I know what APCS looks like on my transcript and how my school doesn’t list it as a “g” course but the online provider does even though the online provider isn’t listed on my transcript. What would I use a copy of their response for?