I am currently a second semester senior who was accepted early decision to the University of Washington in St. Louis. Throughout high school, I received pretty much straight A’s with the exception of a few classes, and only had one B first semester senior year. This semester, I am worried that I will get all A’s and one D, maybe a C. I’m not sure why I am finding such difficulty with this class this semester, I genuinely think the teacher dislikes me (she docks points on my tests for “mistakes” that other people made too and did not make. When I point this out to her she just denies it, but we literally have word for word the same answer) and am starting to think that I should do the Pass/Fail option just in case I do not get a C. Will WashU rescind me if I decide to do pass/fail and pass? The forms are due before finals later this month I believe to change the class to pass/fail, so I do not want to wait until its too late to change it. I honestly might be able to get a C but do not want to rely on the final, given that I have had such struggles thus far and I truly believe the teacher does not like me.
The D could be a worry if you don’t bring it up to a C. Contact your local admissions officer ASAP and mention the situation.
I would also check with your school counselor. Is there any other student in your class in a similar situation?
Finally, talk to your teacher in a polite fashion to see what can be done to bring up your grade. Most teachers will not deliberately try to mess with senior grades.
There are a bunch of kids with D’s and F’s in the class who all plan on going to college next year; I should check with them and see what they are doing. Are you sure that I shouldn’t contact the officer anonymously?
In a situation like this you can’t remain anonymous. WashU will have your contact information already before you’re assigned an official school account. And being anonymous defeats the purpose of contact.
If there is a chance of withdrawing from the class, do so. But your regional admissions officer needs to know of any schedule changes.
@hamurtle is giving you good advice. You don’t want your AO to be surprised by a C or D grade when receiving your final transcript…best to head this off now with an email contact. A simple note stating the facts…that the grade in X class is suffering and you are doing X, X and X to address it. If you do want to go pass/fail, you have to ask the AO if that is ok.
Is the class you are struggling with a core course? Have you spoken with the teacher on how to improve your grade? Gone in for extra help? Frankly it’s irrelevant if you think she likes you or not, you have to make the highest level of effort and let her see that.
Also consider getting a tutor and/or discussing with someone else at school like your GC. Good luck
A “C” is a non issue, a “D” is a little bit of an issue if it signals other problems, an “F” is a big issue.
The class is Calculus. Can’t drop at this point
Would a Pass look better than a D though? How will officers take that into account?
Is a D considered a pass? And if Calculus is a required/core class then you may not be able to take it pass/fail at some high schools.
Yes, at my school, I spoke with my counselor who said that I can do P/F and get a P with what would have been a D. Not sure how that looks though.
It wouldn’t look that great, especially if it’s AP Calculus. You will need to let your admissions officer know. And if you’re considering a STEM major, it might be problematic in the future.
WashU defines the minimum grade to be earned if you’re taking a university class as a C-. Just for future reference if you’re going to take classes P/NP. And major classes do not have that option.
And BTW, you have the name of the school wrong. ‘Washington University in St. Louis’ or WUSTL or WashU. Not UDub…
If you make that mistake to your A.O., that would also be a pretty egregious error.