So my junior year just ended, and for the most part, my resume is pretty well rounded. I am in the top 15% of my class in a nationally ranked school, I scored a 35 on the ACT, I have a 3.75 GPA, and I am involved in numerous activities including National Honor Society, Student Council, Eagle Scouting, and the State Swim team. I’ve also taken 7 AP classes, with plans on taking 5 more next year.
The only glaring issue is the fact that I received a “D” in precalculus during my final semester this year. Other than that grade, my grades have been consistently “A’s” throughout high school. Will this one mistake destroy my chances of getting into the schools that I’m considering? I’m putting some of the schools I’m looking at below. Thank you in advance for your input.
UT Austin
University of Michigan
University of Georgia
University of Florida
Purdue
University of North Carolina
Auburn
University of Alabama
I wouldn’t say one C has destroyed your chances. That being said some of these schools are reaches for OOS even with perfect stats and you will never know why exactly you didn’t get in. UT, UM and UNC are reaches. Show strong mid year grades Senior year and I think you will still be good.
Maybe they will ignore it. But what in your activities ties you to an interest in Mandarin or anything related? What shows you did something with this interest beyond maybe some classss?
I have been highly involved in my school’s Mandarin program, have won several awards, and I am currently taking part in a virtual penpal/videochat program with another student form china. I figured that I could use that to push for the major on my application.
With your ACT score, GPA and ECs and desire to study Mandarin it is highly unlikely that one C in pre-calc will have a huge impact. That being said some of the schools on your list don’t have the major you looking for. I think you have a solid background and will have many good opportunities ahead. Look forward, work harder to avoid and future bad grades and good luck in all that you do.
While I’m not so sure about the specific schools that will care, it might be a bit problematic. One question that I have, and something that I’m sure colleges will wonder, is how you earned a 35 on the ACT but earned a D in Pre-Calculus, especially since there is pre-calc on the test.
That said, your chances certainly aren’t destroyed. You have clearly challenged yourself with your classes, earned a great GPA, have an incredible ACT score, and have pretty good EC’s (they are slightly generic, but they show leadership). U Michigan and UNC will be tough and very unlikely if you are out of state, but the other schools seem like great options and ones you are still competitive for.
You should certainly take some time this summer to go through Pre-Calc until you understand it, and it will be very helpful if you are able to earn an A (or at least a B) in your math class next year – this will show the colleges that you were able to master Pre-Calc after doing poorly, and you now have a stronger understanding of math in general. If you keep up your other grades as well and add a couple EC’s, you will end up being a very strong applicant despite the D.
I had a lot of conflicting activities and events going on which required me to miss roughly a week and a half of school, specifically one unit in the fourth quarter. Since I had missed so much class, I did really badly on the assessments associated with that specific unit. That quarter specifically had only 3 major grades (2 quizzes, a test, and a few homework grades) and since I did poorly on a test and a quiz, that brought my entire semester grade down.