So I just got a C+ (79%) in my CIS (college-in-school) Physics class as my final grade and I can’t stop crying over it. I’m a junior and I really feel like this is the end of everything, even though I know it’s not, but can I still go to a decent college? I’m honestly so sad right now, I don’t know what to do.
OK, let me give you my standard crying-over-a-test speech that a number of my students have heard this year.
I realize you’re very upset by this grade, and that’s OK. You’re allowed to be upset and disappointed. Give yourself a little time for a pity party, then look back at what you could have done to change this outcome. Could you have studied harder? Paid a little bit more attention? Gone to extra help? Searched online for a video that would help your understanding? Started a study group with some of your friends?
But don’t cry too long. There are some test and results that deserve your tears. A road test, maybe. A pregnancy test, sometimes. A biopsy, too often.
But not a Physics grade. A Physics grade is one tiny little snapshot of how you did in Physics in this particular place and time. It’s not a measure of you as a person, or you as a student, or even you as a Physics student. You’re only a Junior in high school, and this was a course designed for college students.
This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, “the end of everything.” It’s merely the end of one teeny tiny little segment of what you’re going to learn in your life,
And, yes, OF COURSE, you can still go to a great college. American colleges are NOT split into those who accept kids who got an A in Physics, and other, less worthy schools.
For what it’s worth, I almost failed both Precalculus and Calculus in high school. Yet I’ve been teaching high school math since 1980, and my most recent review by my department chair called me “the strongest teacher in the department.”
For whatever reason, you weren’t ready to ace college level Physics at age 16. That’s all this means. Not that you’ll never be ready for it, not that your academic career is over. Just that for these 5 months, you weren’t as ready as you thought you were.
As to what to do, a little ice cream might just work wonders.
Feel better!
lol
Thank you bjkmom, I really appreciate this. The only reason I’m horribly upset is because my parents will be so disappointed and I just wanted to do it for them. I know I coulda pulled a B+ in that class but it is also my own fault for not trying harder. I was never good at math yet I tried to take this class. I just want to make sure I get into the right college so I can support my family in the future. I feel like this grade is going to hold me back but I understand that I need to try harder and make up for this. Thank you for your response, I’ll keep it in the back of my mind for second semester. I really needed a speech from someone other than my parents who would have just yelled at me.
If they do yell, I bet it’s about the fact that you let something that mattered to you get away from you.
Sure, they want you to get good grades… we all want that for our kids. But know that one C- is NOT going to make the difference between whether you can support your family or not. (For that matter, neither will your choice of college.)
They’ll be disappointed that you probably could have done better. I’m guessing you didn’t really break a sweat in Physics. OK, so you’ve learned something You know now that sometimes simply being smart isn’t enough. Sometimes you’ve got to put in the extra time and effort. It’s a tough lesson, particularly for smart kids who haven’t ever had to struggle academically. But it’s a lesson that everyone has to learn, even the smart kids.
In the meantime, be happy that (I’m guessing), you aren’t in the midst of the blizzard we in NY are currently facing 
Hang in there!
Thank you very much for everything. You really helped me out with this, I will for sure do better this semester. Thank you once again 
MN is always snowing so I know how it feels. Stay warm!
Have you spoken to your parents yet?
As to the snow, we were lucky… we got about 15 inches. My sister and brother, in Suffolk county east of here, got a lot more. My kids, of course, are praying they’ll get a second snow day out of this storm.
I haven’t yet. I’m too scared to even bring this up with my siblings. My parents will become furious. I really don’t know how to confront them about this…
First of all, there’s no “confronting.” That sounds as though you’re expecting an argument.
Leave your siblings out of it. It has absolutely nothing to do with them. This is between you and your parents.
Tonight, at dinner, say “mom and dad, can I speak to you privately after dinner?”
And remember: you haven’t killed anyone. You’re not pregnant. You’re not running off with your history teacher. You haven’t been arrested for DUI. You’re not going to rehab. You’re not joining the circus. You haven’t failed out of school. You got ONE lower-than-hoped-for grade in one course.
It’s REALLY, REALLY not the end of the world. You got a single C-, and you have an action plan going forward. Next time around, you’re going to swallow your pride and ask for extra help. You’re going to stay on top of your grades. You’ll form a study group with your classmates. You’ll find some great teachers somewhere who have great videos (or start with Khan Academy. I’m not a huge fan, but they get the job done.)
You’re learned from this, and you’re going to handle it like an adult. That’s what adults do: they take minor setbacks, examine what went wrong, and don’t make the same mistakes next time.
Let me know how it goes, OK?
only your overall grade matters, one C+ means NOTHING in the grand scheme of things. You’ll be fine.