Would it look worse to drop a class or get a D in it senior year?

Applied to CSUs and UCs, accepted into two CSUs and waiting for UCs.

I’m currently struggling in a class my counselor wouldn’t let me drop last semester. I barely passed last semester with a 71. It is AP Statistics. I’m thinking of dropping the class as there is only one test left and my grade is too low to raise it to a C unless I get a 100% on the test, which is definitely not possible.

If I drop the class before next week, I will receive a W. My counselor won’t help me, since they will only tell me that my offer will probably be rescinded no matter what (lol). It’s scaring me, but I feel like dropping may be better than failing it second semester, since it might look like I just stopped trying.

Also, I have straight As (improvement from last year and the years before it) except for this class.

Most other posts about this just say to get a C or will not answer the question straight on,so I’m asking again.

I’m a pretty average student in regards to grades, a little above average for my SAT score.

Regardless if you drop and or get a D in the class, the schools need to be notified. If you withdraw, the schools that you have been accepted may need to re-evaluate your transcript again.

I would check with each school before dropping. Either way, it may be an issue for some of the schools.
Any way you can work with your teacher for extra tutoring???

Freshmen: If you change schools, add or drop a course, or fail to earn a C or better in a course after you submit your application, you must notify the UC Application Center by email or postal mail. Your correspondence must include your name, UC Application ID number and your signature (if you mail a letter), and will be available to all the campuses to which you applied.

If you receive an offer of admission, be sure to confirm with the campus admission office that they are aware of the deficient grade or schedule changes. Although you must notify the campus of these changes, we cannot guarantee that a campus can go back to review an application after correspondence has been received. Make sure to save a copy of your correspondence just in case.

Email: docs@applyUCsupport.net

Postal mail:

UC Application Center
P.O. Box 1432
Bakersfield, CA 93302

How is your relationship with your teacher? As @Gumbymom said, if you demonstrate that you are actually making an effort to go above and beyond (extra tutoring), your teacher might work with you. Especially with so much at stake. But let’s just say you get a D and the rest of the transcript is all As, I have a hard time believing you will be in any trouble.

You’ll need to notify your schools regardless, but a D is likely to get you rescinded whereas a W won’t.
Try to think what went wrong, because next year in college all classed will be as hard or harder than AP stats. You need to know what the problem is, so you can work on fixing your approach before August.

Better to drop than get a D, but both are bad and might negatively affect you.

Check in with your college and counselor to see if it okay to drop. If so, drop it.

I would be more cautious about dropping a class senior year. Our family had an acceptance to a national university this year. The acceptance letter explicitly stated that a change in senior year schedule would be change in the application and make the acceptance subject to review. That is certainly not the case for every school, but you should check with your school(s) BEFORE dropping the class. It might (or might not) be better to drop the class. Your GC might be able to help you with this question.

Dropping a class = review but typically OK is school is told immediately
D= high risk of being rescinded

Hello! I thought I would update in case any future seniors are looking for this.

I did not get a solid reply from any UCs, but I called CSULB and talked to my counselor. She told me it is better for me to drop the class as it won’t affect my offer, while a D may get it rescinded. Since I was already accepted into CSULB, I decided to drop the class.

I’ll post once more once UC decisions are out and see if it affected them.

Good luck!!