<p>I apologize in advance. I know everyone comes on here and panics about being rescinded over a B. However, I have a serious situation. I am in AP Calculus AB which is already not that impressive for a Duke student and I am earning a D. The third quarter is coming to a close and I just don't know how much I can pull this up. I think I can get a C but I'm not sure about a B. What should I do? I don't think dropping the class is the answer but I just am not getting it.</p>
<p>Whatever you do don't drop the class.</p>
<p>If you can pull a C or better I think you'll be fine</p>
<p>get that C. It's that simple. Even a D might not get admission rescinded if you keep your other grades up but you will have to explain yourself in a warning letter. If you get that grade to a C you'll be fine.</p>
<p>Do your absolute best/work your hardest, and I can't imagine that you wouldn't be able to pull off a C, which is not in the category of having your acceptance rescinded. Be sure to keep your other grades high, so that in a worst case scenario where you are asked to explain your grade, you can point to your other classes and all the work that you are doing in math and prove that you are not slacking off--you have just reached a class that you are having trouble with.</p>
<p>Ask some of your A-pulling classmates for some extra help studying before tests, etc. We practically called in the National Guard when D2 got an "F" on a Pre-Calculus test last semester, (well, almost---it was D1 and some of her nerdy math friends). D2 was able to get her overall grade up to a B, by the skin of her teeth. I agree w/ the others here....a "C" will be OK for you.</p>
<p>Thanks, I think I can get the C but god this is so hard for me.</p>
<p>Math is something that can be learned through repetition and concentration so just keep at it. Hit the books, get your friends to help you study, whatever it takes. It'll most likely be possible to pull your grade up to a mid-high C at least if you get into gear, which is <em>much</em> better than dropping the course or eating a D (obviously). I got a C 1st semester in Calc BC AP and this semester I'm at a B so there's always room to go up. </p>
<p>If you get that grade up to a C you will probably not get rescinded unless you intend on going into a hard science or engineering.</p>
<p>calculus is a hard concept to understand at first. But, after you're done with it, everytime you look back on it it seems like a piece of cake.</p>
<p>i had trouble my first semester of calculus, pulled outmy first B in my HS career, but looking back it was really simple. Just find a tutor and have him explain the basics. it will be so much easier if you canfind someone to simplify it for you.</p>
<p>There is a book out there called "The Calculus Problem-Solver", only about $20. You need this book!! You can get it at amazon, and almost any college bookstore will carry it as well. After reading the assigned chapter go to the appropriate section and start working problems (with the answers covered). If you get one right then go on, if not redo it after reading thru the answer and then go to the next one.</p>
<p>How much time are you spending outside of class doing calculus? In college a calculus class will meet 3x a week for 1 hour, and a standard expectation for a hard class like this is that you'll spend 3 hours outside of class for every class hour. Your class is supposed to parallel a college class, so this means you should be spending at least 9 hours a week outside of class studying and doing homework. Learning calculus is a lot more like learning to play tennis than learning history; its practice, practice, practice!! </p>
<p>If you spend 9 hours per week on your homework and practicing in the problem-solver book, I <em>guarantee</em> you that you will learn the material and bring your grade way up.</p>
<p>I'm actually wondering whether it is in the OP's best interest to continue Calculus. Yes, she can manage a C if she works by the skin of her teeth. But is this really the best investment of her time? One of my family friends is a professor of anthropology at Harvard University, and in high school she had to stay back years in math, and in the end did not get past simple algebra. She is a profoundly talented and accomplished woman, but mathematics was not a discipline in which she was either gifted or interested. I imagine the OP must be a talented student herself, if she was admitted to Duke. Most likely, her talents lie outside of mathematics. She should nurture her gifts rather than pulling the "I'm an academically well-rounded, excellent student devoid of intellectual cracks (mathematics) and edges (her talents)". I had a horrible relationship with my statistics teacher, and I asked my EA college, University of Chicago, if I could drop it. I explained that I thought I could do better things with my time, and they agreed. Why not strike up a similar dialogue with Duke before a second semester marred by mathematical hell?</p>
<p>Oops...sorry if OP is male :)</p>
<p>I think it depends a little on your school too. For example, my high school put a big fat "NC" on your transcript for dropping a class after the first week... But I have to agree with Orangetwee, if you aren't planning on a science major, the torture may not be worth it.
And to Mikemac, nobody I know spend nine hours on AP Calc... or for any other class for that matter... are we suppose to?</p>
<p>I spend 2 hours a day at most, usually less.</p>
<p>Apparently, I should be spending about 50 hours/week on studying/hw then (in addition to class, work, clubs, etc.). I guess thats doable if i just completely cut out that pesky sleeping part.
I figure it should work out like this: 168 hrs/week - 40 school/commute - 50 hw/study - 15 work - 15 clubs - 18 other commitments = 30 hours free time left per week. Maybe I should take up a sport :D</p>
<p>unpolloloco-I love your sense of humor, keep it up and you'll be fine!</p>
<p>Nine hours of math a week seems absolutely absurd to me. Two hours a day even more so.</p>
<p>Not if you're getting a D. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>
[quote]
And to Mikemac, nobody I know spend nine hours on AP Calc... or for any other class for that matter... are we suppose to?
[/quote]
For challenging classes such as math or science, in college this is typical. And in classes that have substantial reading or term-paper requirements it is not unusual to spend time that adds up to that much as well.</p>
<p>If you google "college 3 hours outside class" you will see lots of links at college sites that discuss this. For example at a link discussing the trouble kids have in adjusting from HS to college
[quote]
Most high school students say they plan on going to college. Yet they fail to put in the necessary time and academic effort before graduation to succeed in college, according to a special report from Indiana University's High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE).</p>
<p>College students are supposed to study two to three hours outside of class for every hour in class, yet 55 percent of HSSSE respondents said they spent three hours or less per week preparing for all of their classes.
<a href="http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/2135.html%5B/url%5D%5B/quote%5DNow">http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/2135.html
[/quote]
Now</a> does everyone in college work this hard? No way. The first thing that happens is they switch out of majors in science or engineering where you need to put in the time each week. And not all courses, not all colleges, are this rigorous. At many larger schools the expectations have been lowered. Due to staffing shortages classes are large and tests become multiple choice, term papers are minimal and are just scanned by TAs instead of carefully read by a prof. There are many schools where you can get by with a lot less than the 2-3 hours. But, orangentwee, I guarantee you that U of Chicago is NOT one of those schools.</p>
<p>Mikemac,
I have no evidence that the OP is put off by the intensity or quantity of work that she will encounter in her future at Duke. Simply, I think they (sorry, still haven't figured out gender) have no intellectual curiosity for math, and therefore to spend 9 hours per week on it rather than something else that will be more enriching for them is a waste of time and existence. </p>
<p>Personally, I am thrilled by mathematics, I can go on and on about how it approaches the absolute, the relationships between mathematics and nature, the beauty of certain mathematical proofs..I attribute this more to the exceptional quality of the teachers I was gifted with than with my own ability, to be honest. I don't have a hard time believing, however,that the OP doesn't have that sort of inspirational pedagogy if she is so frustrated by it. From my quasi-foreigner perspective, it seems that in most cases high school mathematics in America is condemned to fomenting revulsion more than passion in students.
Let the OP wait for better instructors at Duke; then, if they do have a talent in it or an interest that so far has not emerged, it can play out naturally, rather than through the gritted teeth of second semester senior year.</p>
<p>The thing to keep in mind, I believe, is the purpose of education. It should not be torture, or a log of how many hours we work (sacrifice? waste??) per hour of class instruction. Instead we should do whatever we can get the most out of.</p>
<p>I've entertained the idea of a gap year recently, because I want to put the purpose of my education in perspective. People shouldn't go into college with a high school mentality- certain rather existential questions should be asked for the student to derive the greatest benefit of a community of scholars.</p>
<p>Just my little rant :)</p>
<p>By the way,
how, exactly, did you know that I will go to U of C next year ?? (it's okay, I'm only a little spooked. Have we met?)</p>