Same here, usually G12 takes Cal AB. Only very few G11 take Cal AB.
That depends on the school so look in the course catalog and/or talk with the counselor. At many schools both grades stay on the transcript and both are in the GPA calculation. I would not retake a class that a student received a C in. If your D does not drop AP calc AB at the semester what is her plan for math the next two years of HS?
Others have already commented on this and I donât want to pile on. IMO it is the role of the parents to make sure their kid isnât hyper focused on âtop tierâ schools. I put top tier in quotes because that means different things to different people.
Top tier schools have holistic admissions, so not only high grades and rigor, they want to see strong ECs. Having no ECs in 9th/10th (as you have reported) means these schools likely arenât options for your D anyway as that will be two thirds of her HS experience when she applies to colleges in first semester senior year. You mentioned something above about her not being 16 yet, and while some ECs have age limits, thatâs no reason to not have appropriate ECs before then.
I am trying to say this all gently, and communicate that itâs important how parentsâ expectations, and language, can impact their kids. Itâs on the parents to temper talk and actions (like retaking a class with a C) that are focused on gaining admission to a highly ranked school (which I assume is what top tier means.) Itâs ok for you to learn how a retake might work, but I hope thatâs not a topic of conversation with your D. So if your D is the one with top tier school goals, help her change her mindset. If the parents talk about that, donât do it in front of your D.
I hope that she can overcome the struggle with AP AB, and if the best thing for her is to drop it for second semester, then do that. There will be some consequences to that decision, but doing what is best for your D is what everyone (counselor and teacher included) should be focused on.
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You donât need to apologize- you and your D need to figure out whatâs best for her.
HOWEVER- when you post on a message board, you are going to get the benefit of many peopleâs experiences- with our own kids, with students weâve taught or counseled or both.
And I can only give you the perspective from my corner of the world- independent study for a topic a kid has struggled with typically leads to MORE frustration, not less. And the actual logistics- how to fit it in to your kids weekly schedule- Iâm not sure independent study is a better use of her time vs. a part time job, spending time with friends, volunteering at the local animal shelter, starting a band in your garage and writing her own songs, or whatever it is that sheâs interested in outside of academic work.
Does your D have something she enjoys doing that doesnât give grades, isnât a competition, is just sheer fun?
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Yes I noted above a C in 10th grade isnât the end but you are focused on the wrong thing.
Sheâs in 10th grade.
What if she gets a C in something else ? What if she grows depressed or tries to harm herself ?
What if she burns out and doesnât want to go to college at all ?
What if she prefers a non elite school bcuz it fits her better.
Anyway she doesnât have ECs which will eliminate top schools but youâve yet to build a list.
Sheâs in 10th grade.
You need to change your mindset to today, not college.
Elite doesnât bring success in and of itself. Non elite doesnât bring failure.
For med school it will largely not be relevant.
You are dealing with a child. Please slow down.
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Building up the expectation of attending a reach college will lead to disappointment for most students who will not be admitted (even if they earn all A grades in the hardest available courses).
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I missed this. Yes, the kid should have ECs. The kid should have ECs because they should have something outside of academics they do to relax, enrich themselves etc. but for OP also worth emphasizing that this tends to be a deal killer for elite universities who look for well-rounded people. The 16 âŠmakes me think of what one of the, I guess bordering on elite (not ivy but just below) college tours I went on with D19, who said they look askance at students who suddenly have 10 ECs in junior year in time to apply to college. All the colleges we visited emphasized deep commitment to ECs, ideally all 4 years of high school. I think the kid should be doing ECs to, you know, enjoy life, but if the carrot of a good college needs to be dangled for the parents to understand that too then so be it,
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I agree with all of this. But wanted to add that ECâs donât have to be âEditor in Chief of the Yearbookâ or captain of the volleyball team.
A part time job is a great EC. Volunteering in the community is a great EC. Many kids are not âjoinersâ but that doesnât mean they canât have meaningful and fun activities outside of the school day!
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I see this thread as analogous to a parent who has their heart set on their kid playing division I sports. The kid has always played at an advanced and high level up until they are exposed to greater expectations and competition in 10th grade.
At that point letâs assume the kids relative game suffers. No one can be sure if itâs a physical, mental ,work ethic, or all of the above issue but the kid seemingly canât compete any longer at an elite level.
We all know parents who would blame the coach, assume 1-1 private lessons will improve the kidâs game or suggest switching teams. The reality however is that none of these approaches will likely change the eventual outcome. Very few kids have the G-d given talent and mental fortitude to play Div I sports.
The fundamental âproblemâ isnât any shortcoming on the part of the student but the dissonance between reality and the expectations imposed by the parent.
It is very easy for parents to embrace their kids strengths but extremely hard for these same parents to come to terms with their kids limitations.
OP your kid sounds amazing but perhaps is not capable of the hyper acceleration and success they previously experienced. Your job is to help pick them up when they fall down, not prevent them from ever falling or blaming the sidewalk they land on.
Sorry for being so blunt but you seem to have asked a question in pursuit of an answer that fits your desired narrative. Please take the advice at the value you paid for it.
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@Catcherinthetoast You are spot on for the most part and thank you for reinforcing valuable thought process. However your message and most other messages are little too judgmental. Philosophically, I see an analogy in a raising a child and sowing a seed, as care taker your duty is nurture both the best you can, how their growth is not in your hands. My goal of being here is to explore possibilities (a possible problem is not a blame on something, yet it is a possibility) and learn from collective human wisdom by asking specific questions
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A bit of a paradox to judge someoneâs message to be too judgmental 
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Few things
Nothing is imposed by parent, the child selects all courses by herself in my case
I try to take a step beyond that, I try to learn and help child learn overcome that limitation.
Please take the back and forth to PM.
That doesnât sound like she is concerned about top tier schools sounds like you are. You are a smart person but I will state the obvious, kids donât need to explicitly be told a parentâs expectations, they live them.
I respect that but part of that learning process has to be recognizing that there are limitations. Just like my sports analogy a short kid will likely not play basketball at an elite level no matter how much help a parent offers out of love. Perhaps she simply isnât capable of advancing in math at the current pace.
Your kid undoubtedly feels your love and determination to help them but also likely feels they arenât able to fully voice their stresses, experience their disappointments or change paths given the unspoken expectations.
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Not to pile on, but even among posters who disagree with one another on related topics (whether studying as a EC is healthy, whether an algebra review would be helpful, whether this is a talent vs. effort issue, etc.), there is a pretty strong consensus about what you should do: DROP THE CLASS. You asked for advice about what to do. Thatâs the advice.
On that, Iâll amplify what I (think) I know. Really good state flagships will forgive a C if the grade trend is positive. They tend to be overall pretty GPA driven. Take the University of Washington. You can take a really hard course load, but if your GPA is low youâre not going to get in. If itâs high, you donât need a ton of rigor. High end privates are another matter. Rigor is important, but that C will hurt her app unless there is one hell of an explanation (serious illness, living in a car that semester, etc.). And the fact that she doesnât do anything else means sheâs paddling upstream in the holistic admissions world of elite privates. That means the academic record will be that much more scrutinized and the review that much less forgiving.
You have what you need. Only to the extent you want to help others in the same situation, your next post should be about taking that action. If you decide instead to pursue the dogma of âwork harder,â I wish you luck because I expect that you (she) will need it. Itâs really hard to dig yourself out of a hole in math.
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Iâm not judging, OP. Iâm reflecting back to you what I hear from kids who have walked in your Dâs shoes- whether itâs calculus or physics or an AP language before they were ready, or AP Euro history. Stretching is great. Struggling is a good learning experience, but at some point the adults in the room (the parents, the teacher, the guidance counselor) need to figure out if this is the good kind of struggling or the bad kind.
Youâve posted NOTHING that suggests that this is the good kind of struggling, and several indicators that itâs the bad kind. Weâve all read your posts and therefore can come to our own conclusions.
If you were writing that between performing in the all-city musical, a part-time job at the frozen yogurt store, and volunteering for the local coat drive, your D was finding it hard to keep up in Calculus, Iâd bet you lunch that weâd all have different suggestions for you. But thatâs not what youâve posted. If you were writing that the teacher has told your D that sheâs made fantastic progress and she should be proud that sheâs turned things around in only a few months, weâd all have different suggestions for you.
But your posts suggest that your D is unhappy with the situation, doesnât have a lot of non-academic outlets for her energy, and that YOU are anxious about her math grades-- well, if you interpret our suggestions as being judgmental, why is that?
I promise you the world isnât running out of calculus. It will still be there next year or the year after (when most HS kids in America take calculus). But your Dâs childhood is ticking down, and in addition to stretching herself academically, she deserves to have some fun in HS along with all the studying. No?
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Actually, according to Google only 15-20% of US high schoolers take calculus. Itâs far more common to leave it for college.
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Calculus isnât a limited resource. Thereâs plenty to go around. There is no need to take it early, especially if a kid is finding the first few months difficult.
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Happy Thanks giving everyone, I will share more on action or sequence of events that occurs after next to next weekend.
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