<p>I received the Regents Scholarship and just got my mailed packet today. On the letter, it says:
</p>
<p>I’m a little worried because I haven’t really been “sustaining the same level of achievement” this year. From freshmen-junior year, I got straight A’s in every class; but in 1st semester of senior year, I got two B’s (AP Physics B and AP Calc BC), and right now in 2nd semester, I have a B in physics and a C IN CALCULUS.</p>
<p>I don’t think my two B’s in 1st semester will affect me too much because my overall schedule this year is the hardest yet, but I’m reallyyy worried about that C in calculus. I currently have a 56% in that class, which is a C. (In 1st semester, people were doing so badly that my teacher made an A +85%, a B +75%, and a C +40%. This is so that seniors would not get Ds and get rescinded - or for private mid-year reports, not even accepted. So I guess he decided to continue using the same overall-grade-curve for 2nd semester.)
My current 56% is made up completely of the “homework” grade, and most people who I’ve talked to have similar grades in the HW category. We don’t have tests or quizzes; the only other things that go into our 2nd semester grade are two midterms, which account for 85% of the overall grade.</p>
<p>So I’m pretty sure I can’t get a B in this class for 2nd semester. Getting at least a 40% on both of the midterms, for a C overall, should be easy, right? (yeah I really hope so, though I might rip out my hair in the process. At this point, I REALLY loathe calculus. And I’m getting really frustrated because I feel like the information isn’t even sticking in my brain anymore, even the things that I learned earlier in the year. So maybe I really am screwed.)</p>
<p>The admission contract says:
</p>
<p>So my question (if anyone actually bothered to read all that up there haha) is:
Will getting a C in calc (along with the two B’s in 1st sem and another B in 2nd) be enough cause for kicking me out of Regents? Going from straight A’s to B’s and a C I don’t think I’d get rescinded from UCSD (as long as I don’t get a D), but what about the Regents Scholarship?</p>
<p>First of all, congrats on getting a Regents scholarship. You’ve obviously earned it.</p>
<p>What I would do is call or e-mail someone regarding your Regents scholarship at UCSD. Is there a phone number or e-mail address on the Regents letter? (maybe <a href=“mailto:scholarships@ucsd.edu”>scholarships@ucsd.edu</a> ?) Tell them your situation and ask what “sustain this level of achievement” specifically means. (3.5? 4.0 unweighted? no 'D’s?)</p>
<p>Also, I would talk to your Calc BC teacher and ask what you can do to improve your grade to at least a B. Do they have extra study sessions or tutorials? I would think your teacher would want to see your succeed rather than lose your scholarship. Also, is there anyone that can offer you tutoring for that class? </p>
<p>You sound quite frustrated and that’s completely understandable, but I think it might be working against you because it’s making it harder for you to do well in the class. Do what you can and try not to stress. (Easy to for me to say, I know.)</p>
<p>I called the UCSD Scholarship Office (left a message; they never replied) and later the Admissions Office, where the rep wasn’t sure about Regents contracts; then I talked to an actual admissions officer, who also wasn’t completely sure and told me to just read my online contract. I’m still not completely sure about the “sustain this level of achievement” part, but I think I’m going to have enough trouble maintaining even a C.</p>
<p>No extra study sessions or tutorials for this class. My calc teacher’s motto is “Just do it”. He’d just tell me that I’m not working hard enough and that it’s completely my fault for not doing every single homework problem and every Barrons practice problem. In the real world, there is no hand-holding and babying! </p>
<p>I do accept responsibility for not doing every problem for practice, and I agree with him that practicing more problems will help. I know that in the ‘real world’ and even college, I’m on my own; no one is going to help me with my problems. And in all of my other classes, I’m completely fine - I motivate myself completely, do all the homework (I’m just not that great at timed physics tests…), etc. I just need to motivate myself for calculus! (Not that being motivated in first semester helped me much.)
But… like you said, my frustration in calculus is really hindering me because even though I KNOW I should do it and the benefit of doing it is HUGE (not getting rescinded!), I still don’t have the motivation. I just want to avoid everything that has to do with this class, and every day I gladly work on physics and biology and my other classes so that I can avoid calculus. I really need to change my mindset, just don’t know how…! Ugh.</p>
<p>And I’d rather not ask my calc teacher anything more because I only get vague/unhelpful answers and it’s way more helpful to ask my friend for help on a homework problem. Talking to my teacher is also a great way to lower my self-esteem. Last time when I asked him something, I walked away feeling like crying for being such an idiot and asking him such a stupid question. When did I become so pitiful…</p>
<p>I wish I could just erase my memories of this class and self-study calculus on my own. I definitely wouldn’t hate it so much then.</p>
<p>Okay if I’m just being really whiny right now (I really can’t tell anymore…), please feel free to tell me to suck it up. (I’m trying to read old posts that say things like “Stop complaining and slacking off!” in an attempt to motivate myself, but it isn’t working so far.) Sorry for complaining so much. Just don’t know what to do.</p>
<p>Strange that UCSD hasn’t been able to give you more specific answer…they’re probably pretty swamped right now.</p>
<p>Wow, your calc teacher does sound really tough. If he isn’t offering study sessions or tutorials, the next best thing would be to do the relevant extra problems in the Barrons or Princeton Review book. Instead of avoiding Calc homework, maybe you can work on it in parts. Like, work on a problem or two, then “reward” yourself (LOL!) by allowing yourself to work on your other homework in another subject, then go back and do some Calc again, etc. That’s what I’ve done with subjects I dislike.</p>
<p>Asking your friend for help with problems you get stuck on probably is the better option at this point. Asking for help from your teacher might end up making you feel worse. I wouldn’t say “suck it up”, but rather “do what works best for you”. . . . . Definitely try working on extra practice problems, maybe do your calc work a bit at a time (with some “rewards” to help motivate yourself), and get help from your friends when you need it. Having some plan is better than having no plan.</p>
<p>Whatever you decide, you can do this! People don’t get straight "A"s through 3 years of high school like you’ve done because they’re slackers or whatever.</p>
<p>Haha, rewards… I’ll definitely try that starting this week! I actually do use a sort of reward system sometimes when I’m reading my too-long-and-detailed bio textbook… I eat a grape or other small snack every time I finish a section xD except sometimes I just start eating all of them at once if I’m really bored and hungry. Anyway, I’ll also try working on only a few problems at a time instead of getting stuck on a problem and then giving up on the entire assignment…</p>
<p>Seriously, thank you so much for your encouragement! I think I’ll come back here and reread your post whenever I start thinking about just giving up on calc completely.</p>
I don’t think I’d get rescinded from UCSD (as long as I don’t get a D), but what about the Regents Scholarship?</p>
I think I’ll come back here and reread your post whenever I start thinking about just giving up on calc completely.</p>