iuw

Hi! Calgal,

You mentioned "The college counselor at my son's HS relayed anecdotes of 10-20 students/yr rescinded from UCSC for not meeting the second semester senior year requirements. The example given was a D on the final report card."

Did they mention if the D was an AP or non-AP class? Not sure if they would treat AP calculus (a tough class differently).

Also, why did they just say "not meeting the second semester sr.year requirements"? Does this imply a D from the first semester (this semester) might be OK? If my daughter gets a D this semester, she should drop off it for next semester?

calgal

iuw, this detail is of such import to your daughter's admission that I think you should call each school and clarify exactly how they apply the requirement that the student maintain the academic performance under which they were admitted (wording similar to this was in each of my son's admissions letters, public and private). Ask exactly how they would view a D first semester with a C second semester, a D first semester with a retake at cc and an improved grade, and a D first semester and no second semester enrollment. The schools may vary in their response. As for whether the Ds in prior rescinded students were in AP courses, I don't know, but assume that would not make a difference to the admissions committee. It is very competitive to get into Irvine, Santa Barbara, and Davis these days, and, unfortunately, your concern about the effect of a D (which I sincerely hope she can avoid) on the final transcript is justified.

juillet

The people who are saying that one C will kill her chances are wrong; and the people who are saying one D will kill her chances are also wrong.

It is ONE grade. I know several admits to very prestigious universities (and I am at Columbia now) who had one or two low grades on their transcripts. I myself had a C on my high school transcript and got full ride scholarships to tier 2 schools and got into some tier 1 schools as well. Colleges and universities are not expecting you to be perfect; they understand if you flub up in one class.

Also, it's somewhat unlikely that a school would rescind admissions for one D. The UC system may be different, I don't know. If your daughter showed a growing downward trend, like she just stopped caring about school altogether, that would be different. But if she's doing well in all her other courses and this one D is obviously an anomaly, I don't think they would rescind based on that.

I second the advice to wait until admissions decisions come in, and then proactively explain that she got a D in this one class (or a C-, or whatever she has at that time) but have a letter explaining it and maybe a letter from her counselor reaffirming her counselor's belief that she belongs at that school. I also second calling the schools' admissions offices and seeing what grounds for rescinding admissions is.

iuw

Thanks for all good suggestions.

One of the suggestions is to retake this course in community college next semester (if my D gets a D this semester). I just checked with our local CC. For Advanced Education (like Calculus), "high school students are not allowed to take courses (which are available in your school) due to an unsatisfactory grade received in your school". The CC course is Calculus I, which is equivalent to the high school's AP Calculus based on the description. Maybe we can get help from school counselor's help to get in? But we may not be able to get in because my D does have an unsatisfactory grade. Any thoughts on this?

bluebayou

iuw:

you should be able to appeal to both your GC and the community college, since technically, beg Calc 1 is not offered second semester at your HS. (Only the second semester of Calc 1 is offered.)

eg1

Also, it would be more difficult, perhaps, than taking the class at a local CC, but there are many options for online study. If your daughter has a tutor who could help with an online class, it might be an option worth considering if she is unable to find an appropriate class locally.

iuw

eg1/bluebayou:

If my daughter still gets a D this semester, and she retakes an online calculus course next semester (if she is not allowed to take it from our local CC). Can an online calculus class be considered a formal credit (or even college-level transferable) that my D can use it to demo her progress?

buggles123456789

With good effort and a focus, it's possible to bring it up...
At first quarter, I had a low C in AP BC Calculus..
At the semester, I had a B
At the end of the year, I had pulled off an A, as well as a 5 on the AP exam.

Make sure hard work is put in, and she'll have a chance to avoid a difficult situation.

bluebayou

one other option is uccp, but online is definitely not a substitute for a juco course.


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