My D26 is a sophomore and been an A student throughout. I think she got ahead of herself and took Calculus AB in Sophomore year. She is generally very good in math’s but ended up with a C in first semester. Her teacher is a extremely strict graded so that did not help either. She does want to pursue STEM related major in college and was shooting for UC’s. How bad would this C effect her over all chances of getting admitted to a good college?
Also was anyone else’s kid in this situation who can guide us what she can do to improve the scores from now onwards?
Thanks so much, this is her first non A grade ever and she is devastated.
By “got ahead of herself”, do you mean that she skipped a prerequisite course like precalculus, or took it in rushed form during a summer?
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I meant that she could have taken it in junior year. She did pre calc in freshmen year and excelled with A+. She was on the advanced math since middle school.
It depends on the reason for the C. I would start by talking with the teacher for advice on how to improve and perhaps consider a tutor if she is struggling to master concepts.
One C is not the end of the world. It would be good if she could pull the grade up, however, as sophomore year grades are part of the UC GPA, so the C will affect that a bit. But if she brings it up this semester and keeps her other grades strong and takes rigorous classes, she can still end up with a fairly strong UC GPA.
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Yes calc is for 12th grade. I would ask the teacher if she should stay or do they have a regular level offering. Ask if there Is there a way to learn the material she isn’t grasping. Maybe you can hire a tutor. It’s unfair to say because a student doesn’t get an A that the teacher’s grading is an issue. Not everyone can be or needs to be perfect.
This statement below is a little perplexing and worrisome.
“How bad would this C affect her over all chances of getting admitted to a good college?”
One C or 5 is not going to keep her away from a good college of which there’s likely hundreds. Please don’t fall into the UC or high US News ranking trap. As a sophomore you don’t know how her record will be ahead but assuming she’s an A/B l and occasional C student going forward, there will be tons of great schools for her. She needn’t stress herself with UC or bust.
Life is full of pitfalls. This is not a major one.
Good luck to her.
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Please define “good college”. There are plenty of colleges in this country (and in CA) where ONE grade of C isn’t going to jettison your acceptance.
Since your daughter is a HS sophomore, I would urge you to help her create a well balanced list of colleges for applications. Colleges with a variety of selectivity.
Free advice…start with a couple of affordable sure things for admission and build your list up from there.
There are plenty of colleges that would welcome a student with one C grade.
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I would be more concerned about her learning the material since the progression of Math courses build upon each other. As noted, 1 C will not keep her out of good colleges, but make sure she understands the material before proceeding with the next Math course Junior year or she may dig herself into a hole.
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My S25 is in AP Calc AB this year as a junior. Similar story. Advanced math since middle school. Some Bs here and there for quarters but usually ends with an A overall. Took Honors Pre-Calc last year and did an A.
This year, quizzes and tests were coming in as Ds. School did not offer any alternates other than taking the L on his transcript. We did not want to do that and S25 did not want to give up. He was quite frustrated, too. Hired a tutor which we’re using 1-3x a week now, as needed. Does Kahn Academy on his own, too. He’s now doing As and Bs for the most part, holding at a B- overall which we hope trends higher before the semester ends in a few weeks.
I think the one-on-one time with the tutor has really helped him to break down and understand the concepts. His class size is small, about ten, but having the ability to have the focused attention of an expert has been key. (Background: The school only offered two paths from honors pre-Calc, AP AB or AP Stats.)
A friend’s S25 was in a similar situation, but for a dual enrollment Calc AB class at a local community college. Ultimately, he wanted to pull out and take the hit to his transcript. College acknowledged he was ill-prepared for the class. He had never taken pre-calc and was in IB math previously. His parents allowed him to drop out, but are worried about college impact.
It’s a tough situation and I hope you find the path that’s right for her.
Taking it with a year off from math may not have been better.
Going from A+ in precalculus to a C in calculus reflects poorly on the precalculus course content or quality, since difficulty in calculus often indicates insufficient preparation in prerequisite math courses.
She may want to check her knowledge of the precalculus material with the quiz at rurci3 and review any gaps found.
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For most colleges, you don’t need calculus to even get in.
I think it’s too much pressure on kids.
Perhaps the student can recover (meaning learn the concepts) and excel in the future.
But let’s say they never got to calc (let alone in the 10th grade) - even without calc, they’ll still be able to go to a great college.
Worry about learning…not where you go to school.
And in 10th grade…perhaps you’ll have another chance to take again (if you want).
Assuming the course is continuing (not block schedule), she should really try to bring up that grade. Not just for a better transcript, but to understand the material better. Talk to the teacher and if you can afford it, perhaps get a tutor familiar with the course. For a stem major, understanding Calculus is likely to be important. And if she plans to take BC next year, really needs to get the basics down.
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Just food or thought, but check with the school counselor to see how their transcripts are sent to colleges. At our high school, semester grades do NOT appear on final transcripts, only end of year final grades.
Just wanted to reply back and let this community know that my D26 did end up with an A in Calc AB at the end of the sophomore year. She was good at the concepts, just needed more practice which she did and ended up with an A. She probably also got a 5 in her AP test but those results will be known only in a few months.
She will be taking Calc BC in her junior year.
She does enjoy math, even though her first semester of sophomore year ended up with a C on Calc AB. Her college counselor is saying that she should not apply for STEM courses in college as the C will play a big role. But she is confused, as she like the STEM line.
Not sure what is the right path forward, but sharing with the group here to get there thoughts as well.
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Time to drop this college counselor. If school-provided, try to get a different one.
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Does he mean major - or taking AP credit?
She should take the classes / majors of interest - and not discard a course of interest.
But if he means repeat it in college, even if she can get credit, for STEM majors to repeat STEM is often a good idea.
My son did a student panel at Colorado School of Mines - and they (the students) recommended this. He didn’t listen and had to withdraw.
Best of luck to your student. But she needs to pursue the paths that she’s interested in…period, end of story.
Good luck.
Ridiculous advice!
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Calculus is hard for a lot of students and repetition certainly helps. You might want to consider a tutor to review some concepts and help prepare for BC. The good thing about BC is that it includes all the AB material plus some additional topics. If she can do well in the BC class and the AP exam the C in AB will be irrelevant
Keep in mind the OPs child ended the year with an A in the class. Kudos to the student for learning how to better study for the course.
I don’t think the first semester grade will hurt, even applying as a STEM major, since the student recovered to get an A as a year end grade.
FWIW some HS transcripts only show the final grade – your child can ask the HS guidance counselor.
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Student did finish AB with an A grade. If the student also got a 5 on the AP exam, then that indicates readiness for following courses (including if BC at the high school starts were AB ends, rather than starting from the beginning of calculus).
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High school teacher here. To my understanding, for AP courses, in the process of college admission, AP exam score trumps the high school grade. To transfer credits to college, AP exam score still trumps the high school grade (if the course is dual credit carrying college credit).