C in an AP class

[Anonymous]

Is this the "kiss of death" with admissions? Daughter pulled a B+ and B the first two quarters but looks like she's not getting any higher than a C+ for this one. (AP Chem.) She's beside herself.

[Anonymous]

Junior or senior? As a senior it's probably fine, as a junior more challenging but AP chem is a hard class. If she can bring the 4th quarter back up to a B+ it's probably okay. Also depends what school system - in MCPS colleges don't see the quarter grades, just semester grades. In some schools colleges only see the final year grades.

[Anonymous]

Depends on her major I would think. Does she have the option to retake in summer and replace grade? Like a class at Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

My friends DD is a sr and over extended herself last semester. She has an incredible profile. She received a call last week from the admissions office at Columbia to explain her C in B/C calc. So now we all know she is on the bubble....I wouldn't say it's the kiss of death but it probably would have been a slam dunk without it.

[Anonymous]

Well, at my kids' school (not in DC area), a C in an AP class was weighed into your GPA as a B. So, she would get a 3.0 for her GPA, but the C would appear on the transcript.

[Anonymous]

Get the job application at McDonalds ready.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get the job application at McDonalds ready.

Yeah, right
My kid go a C, but a 4 on the exam, so most colleges will award credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get the job application at McDonalds ready.

Yeah, right
My kid go a C, but a 4 on the exam, so most colleges will award credit.

Just to be on the safe side...I'd still prepare and file that McDonald's application.

[Anonymous]

She's a junior at a school that puts quarterly grades on the transcript and doesn't weight.

[Anonymous]

I was in AP Physics and I wasn't doing well (B-'s and C+'s) and they pulled me out and put me in regular Physics and I got A's. This was at NCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's a junior at a school that puts quarterly grades on the transcript and doesn't weight.

Don't worry about the lack of weighting, colleges discount for that anyway.

She still has an opportunity to pull that grade up and you might consider tutoring for this last quarter and exams. Beyond that, she can absolutely get into a good school with a low grade in an AP class. Maybe not the absolute most competitive (though still worth a shot) but there are plenty of great colleges out there.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps I should clarify. She's actually not looking at top 25 schools, more in the 50-100 range but would like to get merit aid as we otherwise would not be able to swing $55k/year. With that being said, unless something super drastic happens, her overall GPA will still be about a 3.8 at the year's end...I think she's just nervous about having a big fat C on her transcript.

[Anonymous]

At the NoVA public high school where my DH teaches, only the final course grade goes on the transcript. Will colleges even see this C?

[Anonymous]

^^ah, okay, sorry, I didn't see your earlier post that it will go on the transcript.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about this, and it sounds like there is nothing she can do about it now anyway. I would just advise her to soldier on and do the best she can. Make sure to apply to some affordable in-state colleges as well as the others she is interested in.

[Anonymous]

I would expect a C in an AP class in the sciences - chem, physics or calc. A B should indicate true mastery at the college level. My DD is getting her doctorate in a stem field. Math & science were her strongest subjects in HS and the APs she took. You want your DC's schedule, the overall challenge, to be able to weather a few C's.