Extreme grade drop junior year...will I make it?

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hi…
I’m a current high school junior.
This is my first year at the school I am in. I came from a small, rural school, and completed my freshmen-sophomore year in that school with mostly A’s and some B’s. I was in all regular classes freshmen year, besides being 1 year ahead the required math course for my grade. Sophomore year, I took Advanced English and algebra 2. Keep in mind, at my old school, there wasn’t really an option for a freshman or sophomore to have above a 4.0-we weren’t offered honors, AP, or dual credit courses as underclassmen, and the advanced classes were not weighted.

After moving to the state I am now and the new school, I decided I wanted to power through junior year with lots of weighted classes to boost my 3.5 cumulative gpa.

A guidance counselor at my new school had told me I was right on track for the highest diploma as of weeks before the start of my junior year, and that according to my transcript and test scores, I’d be fine in dual credit and AP classes.

I ended up taking AP Lit, Dual Credit Spanish, Dual Credit Chemistry, and Dual Credit Trigonometry, along with normal photography, gym, and a study hall. Currently, without my final exam being in the grade book, I have an 87% in AP Lit, which is one of my strengths. However, in all 3 of my Dual Credit classes, I ended up with below a B-. I’ve always struggled with math, and this year I started off behind and never caught up. I barley made a passing mark with a C- in trig, then a C+ in Chemistry, and a C in Spanish. The Dual Credit classes are weighted by 0.5 on the gpa scale, whereas the AP Lit class is 1.0 more on the gpa scale.

My current school has over 2,000 students in it…my old school had less than 900. There’s a huge difference academically and athletically in terms of options and competition, but I didn’t think that I would be having this much trouble at this point.

I’ve studied, asked for help, I do my homework, I meet with my teachers…it seems as if I’ve hit a block and can’t do better, especially in math.

However, since I am a junior in a “senior” math class, I could retake it next year, except my school is getting rid of the course and replacing it with a whole different one, meaning if I took the new course last year, my low C- or potentially D+ would not be replaced on my transcript!

As for Spanish and Chemistry, I am not sure what to do…they both fluctuated between B’s and B-'s all semester, but just now dipped to the C range.

Will a declining gpa and grades make it look like I have a bad work ethic?

Another factor is I moved from one state where I have lived my whole life with my mother and gone to school there, and moved to the current state I am in to live with my dad. There’s been other challenges with that socially, emotionally and athletically, but I am mostly worried about my grade card.

My parents are also extremely frustrated because I have never, not once, ever gotten below a B on any report card in my life, and now I have 3 C’s, potentially more-in the most important year of my high school career.

Should I drop back down to Algebra 2 second semester for math, or stay and try to survive?
Do I have a chance at state universities, such as Indiana University, Ohio University, or Liberty University? I know Ball State is a safe school, and Ohio probably is too…but Indiana? I’d love to go there, but my gpa will definitely drop and I am so worried.

My parents will probably not let me run track in the spring as soon as they see my C’s. I love track…but I also know academics are important and I have a huge hole to dig myself out of.

My PSAT was higher than a 1100. I plan to take the SAT and ACT in June 2018.

How can I compensate for this…what should I do? Even with the weight on the Dual Credit and AP Classes, C’s will still show up in my report card, but will be a little bit higher when my cumulative gpa is calculated.

Help!!!

2

The adjustment from a standard to an AP curriculum can be difficult, especially if your previous school didn’t prepare you to take that step. Additionally, the sudden change in your living situation can be cause for forgiveness. This actually provides a great opportunity to prove your work ethic. The most important thing now is to show improvement throughout the next semester and into the first semester of senior year. Keep in mind that most selective colleges look for the ability to handle rigorous coursework like AP and Dual Credit classes, so if you choose to drop out of those, your choices will be slightly more limited when you start your applications.

First of all, take a deep breath.

Second, consider getting a tutor. Peer-to-peer or other school-sponsored tutors are a great resource, especially because they have often gone through the same classes that you’re struggling with.

In your classes, what is the biggest challenge that you’re facing: 1) your previous classes didn’t adequately prepare you for the material that you’re currently learning, 2) the classes that you’re taking move too quickly for you to learn and understand the material, or 3) the workload, especially homework, for your current classes is too high for you to handle?

  1. If the gaps in your knowledge are small, talk to your teacher and your tutor about the topics that confuse you and work on remedial lessons over winter break. If you feel totally lost, talk to your guidance counselor about dropping back to the prerequisite class for what you’re currently taking (especially if it’s math or Spanish). You can take AP or Dual Credit versions of those classes if they’re offered, and they will hopefully provide you with a more solid foundation to build on next year. Be sure to ask your teachers what you can do to be better prepared for their classes next year as well.

  2. If there are specific topics that are challenging you, you should talk to your teacher about retaking tests or doing extra credit work on those topics to show that you can improve. If the whole class is moving too fast, you should drop to a non-AP or Dual Credit version of the class, at least for this year, and talk to the teacher about what you can do to prepare for an AP course load your senior year.

  3. This is where you should think about cutting back on extracurriculars and better balancing your time, as well as working with a study group or tutor. If that doesn’t help enough, think about which class is eating up the most of your time and causing you the most stress. Try to pick out just one class that you can switch out of, and see if that allows you to spend more time and energy on your other classes.

If you try all of the above and find yourself still struggling, you can consider dropping your high-level courses. If literature is your passion, an 87% in an AP class is perfectly respectable, and you should try to focus on related electives and extracurriculars over the next year. As long as you work hard and use the resources available to you, this semester’s grades won’t stop you from getting a great undergraduate education.

Be aware, however, that college coursework will be challenging, and that if you find yourself seriously struggling in an advanced class in your chosen major area, college might not be for you. For example, if you’re looking to be a math major and have a D+ at this time next year, it might be time to rethink things.

3

You say “I’ve always struggled with math,”. You also say that you had a 3.5 prior to this year.

But your are taking “Dual Credit Trigonometry,…”.

I think that you have jumped ahead too far in math. Mathematics is an area where what you learn now is based on what you learned last week and last month and last year and the year before. What you are going to learn next week will be based on what you are learning now. What you will learn next year is going to be based on what you are learning now and what you learned in the past and what you will learn next week. As such, falling behind in math can become very painful over time.

“Should I drop back down to Algebra 2 second semester for math,”

You are going to need to know Algebra 2 very well in the future. It is a major basis for pretty much everything in math past this point, and for a lot of other STEM subjects. I would be inclined to say yes, but talk to your math teacher first.