Hi, I don’t know if I’m doing this right or if I was supposed to format this differently, but I have a question about something that happened recently if anyone is willing to answer.
FIRST QUESTION: Basically, I just started junior year of high school and I took a two part course over the summer for IM3 so I could get ahead in math. The thing is, I was doing alright until I got to near the end where they had like two extra units that technically don’t belong in full in IM3, this means the course kinda encroached on the school year, which my counselor was okay with, as long as I finish it within the first few weeks. Okay, the thing is I was rushing because it was the first week of school and the end of the semester deadline was this Saturday (August 15th), so I accidentally got a bad grade on the final and my grade went from a B+ to a C+. I googled it and apparently if you don’t finish it in time for the end of the semester, it doesn’t look bad at all, it just moves over to the current semester. This was kinda a gut punch for me. There is a second final for the second part of the course but it’s somewhat harder and I don’t have as good of a grasp on it (I know it well enough though), either way, if I get a B/B+ on that final do you think it won’t look as bad?
SECOND QUESTION: My plan is to lock in and basically get good grades. I have a few extracurriculars so I think I’m fine there as long as I pay attention to them, but my main question is this: If I’ve gotten good grades as a freshman and sophomore (B in honors organic chemistry as a sophomore), and I’m good at time management (I have an extra study hall because of my IEP and go to an alternative school that is sister schools with a school with good AP’s) will I still have a chance at competitive schools? Like I’m doing pretty well so far, but will it affect me badly if I do consistently well and show growth with what I have now? I also know PIQs play a big role for UC’s so if I just make sure to plot out what they’re generally going to be about, make sure they stay about me, and make sure to run them by people and edit them a bunch, will this bring me back to the chances I had before? Am I cooked? Am I overthinking it?
Notes to add at the end:
If I’m straight-edge and part of my personal commitment is to never have a social media account, this technically counts as social media (I mean it’s a forum so it counts), so I feel kinda guilty. Is it okay to give myself a pass because it’s about college and kinda important to get answers for myself?
I want to make sure y’all know I’ve been doing this for me. Like I know some kids want to get into good colleges because of their parents pressure, but my parents don’t particularly care where I go as long as I go somewhere or am happy with my job. I’ve always wanted to go to Berkeley ever since I was a child and no one really provided a roadmap for how to get there (besides telling me to take hard classes but they were also really on the fence about me taking even one honors class as a sophomore). I recently (like two years ago) learned about quantum biology (which is apparently a real thing, sort of) and it seems really interesting. I feel like I really screwed myself over but with the resources I have I feel like I can do well this year because of the time I have. Will I be okay?
It doesn’t matter where you want to go. You can apply - and you’ll see. But there’s tons of great colleges out there and you don’t need any of these classes you are describing, that few high schoolers take.
Will you be ok?
Of course.
Will you be at UCB or Washington or Colorado or Arizona?
I don’t know - but either way you’ll have plenty of opportunities.
PS - dont’ say things like this:
That’s the grade you earned. So own it.
Lock in as you say, do the best you can, but maybe take the classes that high schoolers take instead of over stepping - and make sure you are getting your English, Science, Foreign Language and Social Science too - and all the A-G categories required for UC.
The vast majority of college applicants never take a summer course at all…of any kind.
My suggestion…just finish this course as well as you can. If you need a tutor and have time to get one who will help, try that. Otherwise, do the best you can do.
And you are not “cooked”. There are thousands of colleges in this country, and one C+ grade is just that. One C+ grade. There will still be plenty of colleges that will welcome you as a student!
Math is an area where what you are studying now depends a great deal on what you learned last year and the year before, and what you will be learning next year will depend a great deal on what you are supposed to be learning now. This means that math is a very bad area to jump ahead.
Instead, with math, you should learn at a measured pace, and try very hard to learn each part very well. You should only take a course that you are ready to take, and do not jump ahead.
Do not try to “get ahead”. Instead, try to build a solid foundation.
By the way, I didn’t take calculus until I was a freshman in university. That did not stop me from majoring in math.
Just not really sure where to go from here because I’m actually doing pretty well in my AP classes this year and my extracurriculars are doing fine. I feel like I’d be in a decent place if I hadn’t done this but I don’t really know right now.
You have ONE C+ grade. There are plenty of colleges where you will be a welcome student.
Please look forward and not backward. There is nothing you can do to change the C+ grade, but you CAN do your personal best the rest of your HS years. So…do that.
There are plenty of college kids who got a C grade in high school.
Sorry. Thx for correcting. Same message. Cant look back. Good luck. OP will be fine. Can’t guarantee UCB and couldn’t guarantee if even with an A in the class.
I mean it’s not that I’m burning myself out with my accelerated classes, it’s just this specific summer course. Like I’ve been doing pretty well in my AP’s (specifically the ones that gave homework on the first day). The real reason I’m asking this question is because it’s one hiccup in my (bona-fide) high school career at what seems like an important time.
I have a lot of support from all sides so I’ll just keep going but I guess I wanted to know how much this would impact my chances.
You’ll never know why you get into a school or why you don’t. Kids with perfect grades, test scores, rigor and more get turned down at schools whereas kids with lesser #s get in.
Chances at what? As I’ve said…there are plenty of colleges where you will be a welcome student.
I see you have UC Berkeley tagged in your original post. As you know, that is a competitive university for admissions for everyone. If you are from CA, you are fortunate to have many public universities that are great in your state. This could be your reach school…but there are many others where you could gain acceptance.
Maybe you should do a chance me/match me thread once you have at least your mid year grades in grade 11.
I am somewhat confused. You stated that you completed part 1 of a class in mid-August when your grade dropped to a “C+” but now you are preparing for a second final exam for part 2 of the same class and striving for a “B+” on this exam. Were you already assigned the “C+” as a final grade for part 1 and looking to demonstrate improvement with a higher grade for part 2; both are official assigned grades appearing on the transcript, or is there still time for an improved grade for the class (part 1 & 2 combined as one final grade)? If your situation is the latter, then you need to study hard for an “A” on the second final? A “B-” and a “C+” are distinct grades. I would avoid any more “C” grades if at all possible.
For UC Berkeley, you may want to consider the community college transfer option for an A.A. degree as a transfer to Berkeley for the B.A. or B.S. for years 3 & 4.
Exactly and if a CA resident, that’s another alternative - although OP is premature at this point, even if they didn’t take the class. Anyone can want UCB…but want and access to it are two different things (regardless of a less than desired grade).
Well, it also depends if Xolotl is wanting a two-year or a four-year experience as a Berkeley undergraduate - both lead to a Berkeley degree but the two pathways & experiences would be different.
Honestly I could definitely see myself going to a nearby community college and transferring. I have a couple of friends who are doing that this coming year so I wouldn’t be alone if I chose that path.
Consider getting a year’s worth of DE credit by dual enrollment, and then enrolling at CC for at least a year after graduating HS. This will make you eligible for TAG without requiring you to attend CC for two years.