AJwants2go2USC

I decided to challenge myself by taking 2 AP's and 3 honors this (sophomore) year, and I got an A in all of them when progress reports came out, except for an F in Algebra 2H. I know I can bring it up to maybe a high C and maybe if I'm really lucky a B-, but would that make colleges think lesser of me? I have an A in AP Art History, AP Euro, English 2H, and Spanish 2H but Algebra 2H is killing me. Also would it make colleges look like I "give up" if I drop to regular second semester so I can get an A+? This is killing me right now...

Thanks so much!

h00dr1chh

Yes it will look like you have given up. Try harder next semester and show them that you can pull up the grade and do well. But by all means, don't pussy out and take the easier course.

Nester

As a parent, I hate to be the lone voice in favor of "pussying out and taking the easier course," but there you have it.

I'm assuming that the OP is a solid student with a challenging schedule who has been studying hard, handing in all his assignments on time, and taking Algebra2H seriously all semester, but is nevertheless failing. I am coming from the perspective that a) it is better to have a very high grade in a less challenging class than a very, very low grade in a more challenging class -- as long as the student's transcript generally shows a propensity to take challenging classes (which the OP's does) and b) not all smart, motivated students are equally good at everything, and this does not prevent them from being accepted by excellent colleges.

Sometimes it is the mature thing to look at a situation realistically and consider alternate strategies. Of course, it would be great if the OP could just study more and suddenly understand Algebra 2H and raise his grade from 50 to 95. But even if he is very intelligent and hardworking, this might just not be the course for him. Not only that, assuming he is already working hard, how much time will killing himself to maybe pull up his grade to a C plus in the class adversely affect his excellent grades in all his other classes?

There is no shame in dropping down, especially if the high school will let students who take regular Algebra and pre-calc into AP calc senior year. And even if it turns out that math is not the OP's thing and he ends up challenging himself in AP stats instead of AP calc, there are plenty of students who get into great colleges that way. Moreover, if this is a high school that only sends the end of the year grades to colleges, omitting the semester grades in year long courses, the fact of having dropped down and done badly at semester may not even show up. (Check this out, of course.)

Sometimes when you hit a wall you can work and work and ultimately get over the wall. But sometimes you realize that getting over this particular wall is not critical to your life's goals and that rather than banging your head against that wall until you bleed, you'd be better served going around it and devoting your time to some other challenge.

Our hs sends a lot of kids to USC. Many of them were not in the honors math track in tenth grade. Being in regular Algebra is not going to make or break you. This is not the end of the world. It's very difficult emotionally for a student who is very invested in doing well to experience this, but this is not the end of your academic career. Go talk to your GC and calmly evaluate your alternatives.

Eiffel

^Completely agreed. You should take classes that are right for you. As long as you take the most challenging classes that you can in the areas that suit YOU, you should be fine. Especially if you take honors or AP in all other subjects besides math (or even try to take honors math a couple times, if you can.) For instance, I did take Honors Geometry and Honors Algebra II, but I decided this year to drop AP Stats early because I knew from the get-go that it wasn't suited to my abilities and that it wasn't suited to my intended major either.

I'm still taking AP Econ and AP Government, though, because those ARE right for me. I will shine in the classes I take instead of just taking every single "challenging" class I can take just for the sake of it. I know several people who take every single AP class available at my school. They are often overwhelmed and overworked, and ultimately, they end up not trying as hard or slacking off in certain classes so they can keep up with others.

For example, one of my friends last year got a 2 and 3 on her two AP Calc tests, a 3 in AP Bio, a 3 in AP English, and a 4 in AP History. I, on the other hand, got a 5 in AP English and a 5 in AP History. I think this (getting two perfect scores in two subjects) looks better than getting mediocre scores in most subjects).

Of course, there ARE people who can take ALL the challenging classes and get A+'s in all of them, get 5's on all the tests. However, most people have strengths and weaknesses. As long as you challenge yourself and take the most rigorous courses in the classes that actually pertain to YOU, I think you'll be perfectly fine. In my opinion, it shows more maturity and self-insight when you really think about your courses, choose carefully the ones you want to take, and do extremely well in those classes.

Columbia_Student

Are you sure you can get a B-? If not drop down to regular class.

Taxi1113

You've got to respect a parent who is willing to say that they're "in favor of 'pussying out and taking the easier course.'"

kmzizzle

i got my first D on an exam (abridged accounting) during my this (my first) semester at usc

Nester

Oh dear, do I detect some irony, Taxi1113? I was quoting post #2.

dreamupsided0wn

I went through almost the same situation my junior year. I was taking AP Art History, AP US History, AP English Language, Honors Spanish IV, Honors Chemistry, and Honors Algebra II. I was doing well in all of them, but I got the worst teacher for Alg II. Seriously, he has a rep for being a complete prick. Needless to say, I failed the class spectacularly. Some of you might be thinking that it was because I didn't try; I studied for his final for ten hours and got a 30%. He told me I didn't try hard enough. I hated him, so second semester I looked for a different class to switch into. The only other available math class was a regular level Algebra II class. I switched into that one, and did really well. Then over the summer, I retook semester one of (regular level) Algebra II at a nearby high school and got an A+. My school's course retake policy allows you to replace an old grade with the letter "R" on your transcript and uses the new grade to calculate your GPA. My GPA went from a 3.5 to a 3.8, and my class rank shot up 100 spots.

Then again, I'm planning on going into film so I don't think my the difficulty of my math courses is THAT important compared to the rest of my courses.

Eiffel

^Yeah, major is something to consider. I'm applying to Cinematic Arts too, so I wasn't too worried about taking AP math of any kind. But if the OP's major pertains to math, then I'd suggest she consider staying in the Honors course or else examine her major and ensure that she really wants one that is math-centric.

mdcissp

OP should see the Guidance Counselor ASAP and switch to regular Algebra.

NiklasK

I used to be of the philosophy that people who dropped out were pussies, but seeing as it's my senior year and my GPA sucks because of being stubborn and staying in Algebra II Honors and not dropping to a regular class. Furthermore I invested so much time into trying hard in that class, that my Chemistry grade fell from an A to a B-, and then after the final turned into a C+.....so take it from me, so you don't end up only getting accepted to a so-so school with dumbasses surrounding you. 3.8 vs 3.5 is the difference between Northwestern and Northeastern......pains me to see the "dumb kids" get into better schools than me just because they dropped out and took regular

AJwants2go2USC

I'm so confused!
my teacher is actually pretty nice to me and says that I do perfectly in every aspect of the class except for tests. I got TWO private tutors because I really want to get a B or A in this class and want to keep my rigorous course schedule
thanks so much for the replies! they really helped me in making my decision.