What does an F do to college prospects?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got a C in Trig after starting half the year off with a D-. It's not my best subject.

Anyways, I worked my ass off, the C didn't matter for the colleges I was accepted to (large, well-regarded state schools), and many years later I received a PhD in economics.

Please don't think or imply to your child that this is the difference maker between Harvard and community college. This is resilience building. This is the reason for school.

Tell me you’re old without telling me you’re old.

[Anonymous]

I'd focus on how it affects GPA. If it will be repeated and the new grade counts, then I guess it's fine. But if she's going to end up with a D or F, then the GPA hit and it being on her transcript will take schools in the top 50 out entirely. MAYBE she can still get into top 100 schools. I agree her story someday might be interesting, but that's assuming she turns this around and/or learns something about herself, and/or the person reading that essay doesn't roll their eyes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got a C in Trig after starting half the year off with a D-. It's not my best subject.

Anyways, I worked my ass off, the C didn't matter for the colleges I was accepted to (large, well-regarded state schools), and many years later I received a PhD in economics.

Please don't think or imply to your child that this is the difference maker between Harvard and community college. This is resilience building. This is the reason for school.

Tell me you’re old without telling me you’re old.

Seriously. What happened to any of us in the college admissions process is so irrelevant that if someone mentions "in my day", I assume they haven't started thinking about college for their kid. Whole new world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's in 10th grade? She'll salvage a C this year, but needs to maintain that grade or get a better one next year.

The tippy top schools are probably out, as they have their pick from many perfect applications, but there are tons of colleges on the table! TONS.

Do you really think OP has in mind a “tippy top” school? (And please stop using that obnoxious term!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got a C in Trig after starting half the year off with a D-. It's not my best subject.

Anyways, I worked my ass off, the C didn't matter for the colleges I was accepted to (large, well-regarded state schools), and many years later I received a PhD in economics.

Please don't think or imply to your child that this is the difference maker between Harvard and community college. This is resilience building. This is the reason for school.

Tell me you’re old without telling me you’re old.

What part is irrelevant to OP's situation?

Is OP going to tell her child to drop difficult college classes? Drop a difficult job? As some point, you have to stop preparing the road for your child and instead prep your child for the road.

People caught up in the college arms race need some real the perspective that the outcomes are not significantly different between those who go to schools in the top 30-50 instead of 130-150.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My ds failed algebra 2 in sophomore year and retook it junior year. The grade the second time replaced it in his gpa. B student and admitted to many schools that were not cc.

Schools still may see the grade even if it's not calculated into the GPA.

Depends on the school system

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got a C in Trig after starting half the year off with a D-. It's not my best subject.

Anyways, I worked my ass off, the C didn't matter for the colleges I was accepted to (large, well-regarded state schools), and many years later I received a PhD in economics.

Please don't think or imply to your child that this is the difference maker between Harvard and community college. This is resilience building. This is the reason for school.

Tell me you’re old without telling me you’re old.

Seriously. What happened to any of us in the college admissions process is so irrelevant that if someone mentions "in my day", I assume they haven't started thinking about college for their kid. Whole new world.

Disagree. Anyone failing Algebra 2 / trig never had the top 20 schools on the radar anyways. The target schools for this student will seriously not care about a C. And a target is not necessarily community college.

[Anonymous]

Talk to school about dropping it and take a summer course for credit. You need to get on that right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Forget the grade - for a minute. It is -essential- for her to have a solid understanding of Algebra. She will need to build on this foundation if she takes any math going forward, for anything. There will be the SAT, requirements for college for her major, college math placement tests.

She can just drop the class. Drop it. Take it next year. Next year with a tutor. A tutor from the very beginning. Make sure she's not in honors or advanced and in over her head.

She likely doesn't want to drop for reasons: missing friends, it's embarrassing, Too bad. She'll adjust. Not is as important as learning the material, solidly.

Plus, with some pressure off, she is likely to do better in all of her other classes. One horrible class can bring everything down and make her feel worse about herself (imo), than dropping the class.

This is wise advice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is flunking honors Algebra 2/Trig. Refuses to switch to an easier class, saying she really wants the challenge, even though she's failing it. Really freaked out when we suggested taking the question to her counselor.

We've hired her an excellent tutor, but it's early days and no difference is apparent yet.

If she flunks this class, what does that do to her college prospects? Does it mean, e.g., CC only?

Thanks.

They should not give her an F. She needs to get in there and talk to teacher and do whatever extra credit she can to get it up to a C.

[Anonymous]

what about dropping the 'honors' and just going with the traditional Alg/trig? That should be an option.

[Anonymous]

All of you clinging dearly onto this false notion that anything but a 4.0 unweighted GPA in this grade inflated world is an irrecoverable disaster are missing the mark.

Unless the grade somehow disqualifies the student from the progression of courses needed to graduate, a single F in a sea of As drags the student’s GPA down to a 3.93 …

It’s not a good thing, obviously. But this application season, the T20 schools will collectively accept at least 15,000 students with unweighted GPAs at or below that level.

And no, not all of them have hooks. In fact, the common denominator is that most of then applied with very high test scores.

If this particular student has other major potholes in their academic record or can’t score highly on the ACT/SAT, then the T20 is probably unattainable. But the test optional folks here who think their children with a 4.00 unweighted GPA but no test score to be found are not being second guessed by T20 schools who are not test blind - you are delusional. They know why your child isn’t submitting a test score, and in almost all cases, it has nothing to do with the pandemic, costs, availability, etc.

[Anonymous]

Is this at TJ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this at TJ?

Not everything is "at TJ."

[Anonymous]

sensitive.

I asked since at TJ, Trig/M4 is a notorious course and getting a C or even F is not uncommon..