Penn or another tippy top? Ime, they can look at everything and still put it in context. But remember how many kids applying to tippy tops don’t have a stumble in their records. There will always be anecdotes of some kid who got in despite. But the stakes are high. Other tiers, it may not matter as much.
@lookingforward does that apply if you get a C in something like woodworking or PE one time? Just using those for examples
@Citymama, it’s not easy getting through the competition for a tippy top. But assuming everything else was in order- rigor, core grades, activities, and how the kid presents him/herself in the app, no, that C in woodworking shouldn’t be a showstopper. But you may know my refrain is that not enough kids take the time to really learn what a most-competitive college is looking for. So, it’s worth making the effort to understand the match, from both sides- your kid’s and what the adcoms want to see, overall.
Note, though, that most of the schools listed besides arguably Penn and Georgetown aren’t what most people would consider the very tippy-top.
There are lots of ways in (including agreements with CC’s in the case of UVa, UNC, and W&M). And you get to decide what game you want to play. How good are you in the sports?
Just wondering, why didn’t you drop the class at the beginning when you knew it would be hard?
There is so much speculation going on by OP- why not do your best from now forward and decide on schools based on your GPA and stats at that time? Why do you have to decide now where you might want to apply in the future?
^ Good point. Your mind will definitely change multiple times in the next 2 years, anyway.
Determining what you like to do with your life may be more fruitful.