TJ - Dip in GPA in Senior Year - Impact on college admissions

[Anonymous]

Hi, DD is in TJ and at a Weighted GPA of 4.4 - 2 Bs and all As till now. In Senior year she is finding 2 post AP (AV courses) pretty hard and at B on both. This will dip her GPA. Any advice on what can be done, she is extremely stressed - How will this dip in GPA in Senior year impact her college applications.

[Anonymous]

No answers for you. Just solidarity. TJ senior year does not let up. I think she needs to buckle up second quarter and pull those Bs up if she’s gunning for top tier schools. If not top tier, she’ll be just fine. I know my TJ senior is feeling enormous pressure to get all As first semester. Very hard to do with advanced courses, college apps and whatever else your kid does.

[Anonymous]

Get apps in now to EA and ED schools. They don't look at senior year grades until after you have been accepted just to make sure the kids didn't completely fall apart

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get apps in now to EA and ED schools. They don't look at senior year grades until after you have been accepted just to make sure the kids didn't completely fall apart

Some schools ask for quarter grades for ED applicants, unfortunately. My kid is in similar boat and both schools she is considering for ED want quarter grades, which are completely unofficial.

[Anonymous]

my kid is having the same experience. first B .. would have time to get it up by year end, but not by first grading period. adding so much stress

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my kid is having the same experience. first B .. would have time to get it up by year end, but not by first grading period. adding so much stress

Same. Mine has always gotten up to A or A- by end of semester. So unfair to look at grades only halfway through semester.

[Anonymous]

My kid is having the same experience at a Big3 private. Getting Bs in two post-AP (or AP equiv) courses. Why the school grades their top students so hard (many Bs being given in these classes) I'll never understand.

Should never have taken them but advisor swore it would all be ok. Live and learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kid is having the same experience. first B .. would have time to get it up by year end, but not by first grading period. adding so much stress

Same. Mine has always gotten up to A or A- by end of semester. So unfair to look at grades only halfway through semester.

Is it unfair though? These kids are compared to ones with equally difficult classes who are maintaining As in them all year.

[Anonymous]

Yes. There is a reason that quarter grades don’t go on the transcript. They can be based on or two assignments only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. There is a reason that quarter grades don’t go on the transcript. They can be based on or two assignments only.

Yes. My kids has two Bs in post-AP classes (first Bs ever).
Quarter is about to end.

1) course has had one assignment. ONE.
2) course has had one test. 2 quizzes. (math class).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kid is having the same experience. first B .. would have time to get it up by year end, but not by first grading period. adding so much stress

Same. Mine has always gotten up to A or A- by end of semester. So unfair to look at grades only halfway through semester.

Is it unfair though? These kids are compared to ones with equally difficult classes who are maintaining As in them all year.

I think it is because all kids have had teachers who always, for no reason, started the kids off with a little lower grade. I think because they think moving a kid from a B in October to an A in June says something about them as a teacher? Who knows.

But getting those teachers senior year really is dumb luck

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kid is having the same experience. first B .. would have time to get it up by year end, but not by first grading period. adding so much stress

Same. Mine has always gotten up to A or A- by end of semester. So unfair to look at grades only halfway through semester.

Is it unfair though? These kids are compared to ones with equally difficult classes who are maintaining As in them all year.

In some of these courses there are no As being given.

[Anonymous]

Do those teachers know that their quarter grade is going to be given to colleges? My kids have one teacher who is trying a "new" grading scheme where he starts everyone at a zero or F and increases their percentage based on mastery of material over the course of a year. No joke, my kid was at a 65 (i.e., "D") in the middle of the semester because they only covered 65% of the material. Looked ugly on her progress report of all As, but the teacher was trying this out as part of some kind of innovative thing that I truly did not understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:my kid is having the same experience. first B .. would have time to get it up by year end, but not by first grading period. adding so much stress

Same. Mine has always gotten up to A or A- by end of semester. So unfair to look at grades only halfway through semester.

Is it unfair though? These kids are compared to ones with equally difficult classes who are maintaining As in them all year.

In some of these courses there are no As being given.

And in some other classes that your kid didn't take but other kids did - where teachers don't give As. In some classes they don't count homework or classwork or participation towards the grade and other classes do. In some classes the final grade is comprised of 20+ grades and in others it is very few. In some classes a test has 50 problems worth 2 points each and in others a test has 10 problems, so missing one is a problem.

That's life.

[Anonymous]

Generally no impact on college admissions unless you do really poorly. If your kid is already admitted a school isn't pulling an offer over a B or two.