For context, I’ve always held all A pluses and As with only 2 A minuses (ap physics and ap calc) throughout freshman, sophomore, and junior year. I took 4 APs junior year (AP bio, apush, ap lang, ap calc bc) and got 5s (lang and calc) and 4s (bio and apush).
I’m currently taking 5 AP classes and an honors environmental science class, and it is my senior year. However, I’m actually DYING in my AP chem class this year. We’ve had 3 quizzes, and I’ve gotten 60s on all 3 of them. I started reaching out for extra help in the class, but the class is all assessment-based (no grades for anything besides tests and quizzes). I’m applying to T10s, and there are so many students that are doing better with my same course load.
Do I look stupid/unprepared for struggle/scared of failure if I drop the class now? It would be the first “Withdrawn” on my transcript.
Drop the class if you don’t need it to graduate from high school, or to fulfill course requirements for college applicants.
I surely hope you are also looking for a few colleges that are not top 10 colleges. Even with a perfect SAT and a 4.0 GPA, you are not guaranteed acceptance to these colleges with single digit admission rates. And if you don’t get accepted, you will never know why (one W on your transcript won’t be the reason most likely).
I’m going to link a thread. The student in the thread was a NMF, class val, excellent LOR, excellent ECs. No one expected him to get rejected everywhere as a HS senior. But fact was…he really had no sure things for admission on his application list. He did land on his feet very well after a well thought out gap year, but his senior year in high school was not a happy time. You don’t want to be him…read the whole thread.
Do not withdraw, if it is required for graduation or your future major. If not, a guess you can drop it. Speak with your counselor. Can you drop to lower level class? It is just September. Get a good tutor. PM me, my daughter is Chem major and can make suggestions.
Do not expect that classes will be any easier at a “top 10” university. One thing that happens when students arrive on campus at any highly ranked university: They discover that they have suddenly become average, they discover that they are surrounded by a very large number of very strong students, and they discover that classes have become difficult.
I am speaking from experience, having attended a “top 10” university (specifically MIT for my bachelor’s degree).
On the other hand, some students excel in some subjects and struggle in other subjects.
In terms of whether to drop the class, I do not think that university admissions would be anywhere near the top of my list of concerns. Rather think about what is right for you, and what is needed for you to graduate high school. Then find colleges or universities that are a good fit for what you have gotten done.
I am hoping that you have already taken regular chemistry.
Getting a single C (if you can get it to that) won’t kill your strong academic record. Likewise, having a single withdrawal when you have an otherwise excellent record. A withdrawal will probably raise more questions than a C though…just because it’s more unusual. Either way, you may or may not get in to a top top school…and it may not be about this class. Admission to schools with single digit admit rates is just so unpredictable.
Are you feeling overwhelmed with workload overall, or just struggling to master this subject?
If your workload is overall too much then it might make sense to withdraw to give yourself more time to do well in the rest of your classes. If the problem isn’t an overall sense of having too much work and too little time, but is more of one of understanding the material, can you get a tutor? It’s not too late to pull the grade to a C for sure, and maybe even a B (minus).
A D will harm you far more than a W.
Had you taken Chemistry before?
AP Chem is one of the hardest APs BTW but just be warned it’s similar to a first semester General Chemistry class. Any university or lac within the top50 will make AP Chem seem routine. However in college you’ll only have 3 or 4 other classes to handle at the same time.
Since you’re already taking another science senior year, there’s no harm in dropping the class. 4 APs + Honor Environnemental Science is a solid courseload.
Fall senior year is busy with college applications which take up as much time as an extra, intense class - focusing on those (and getting enough sleep) matters way more.
That being said, make sure you have 2 colleges that share enough characteristics with your favorite schools AND admit 40% applicants + apply to your flagships and their honors colleges. Do these apps by the EA or priority deadline.
I think it’s important, what you said about kids with the same courseload not having as much trouble. Take that seriously, and expand your college application list. It’s very common on CC for kids to come and say, “X happened which means I’m not as competitive as I thought. Am I still as competitive as I thought?” and when people say, “No, you’re not as competitive as you thought,” then two things can happen - they go complain on Reddit that CC is mean, or they expand their college application list to include some of the zillions of other places in this world that don’t start with capital H.
You should consider dropping, not for college admissions, but for your own mental well being. You could explain what happened in the Additional Info section - that you took on more than you could handle and had to adjust your schedule; you learned from your mistake. In the meantime, I would forget about “T-whatever” type lists and develop a balanced list based on fit. Don’t get caught up in the prestige arms race.
Do NOT do this. Do not attract attention to something that is very very common on senior year transcripts (and especially not with such an “excuse”.)
You already have a solid schedule. Adcoms aren’t going to spend hours wondering about the extra class you dropped or about the reason (if they devote 2 seconds of thought to it, they’ll assume it’s the most likely reason for a senior year schedule change: student realized had taken more than could chew, ie., good self awareness.) Your transcript will have been reformated so that it looks exactly like all other schedules adcoms read at that college - for all you know depending on the software they use, the drop won’t even appear- and they’ll spend 2-3mn checking it. Wondering about a dropped class isn’t going to be anywhere near their top elements to check.
The rest of the above advice is good though. Especially wrt mental health.
Wouldn’t the transcript be the first thing to be scrutinized, assuming that the OP gets 5-10 minutes of review? It’s a chance for the OP to at least attempt to control the narrative of the W, instead of hoping that it somehow won’t show up on their screen. Not mentioning it at all could be just as risky.
Odds are, it will show up and will result in zero questioning by the adcom. Students drop classes in September all the time, for all sorts of reasons.
On the other hand, progression, grades, rigor, whether there are strong or weak subjects, whether that matches the applicant’s purported major of interest.. will matter.