How bad is it if you fail Algebra - Physical health issues also involved

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regarding attending 120 -180 ranked schools, the reason I bring it up is because child thinks that is not going to be a problem at all, even now.

Attitude is, I got an F, it is not the end of the world, I am still getting into colleges 120-180 that I want, so why is this even a problem? You can understand why my blood boils over this.

My question is, is the above true? Is it possible to get into these colleges with the current grades. Assuming child would say get a B or an A next year repeating the class. Current GPA is just above 3.

If child comes to believe that the above is not true, it pretty much solves the problem. As it is mainly one of effort. It is almost as if child thinks, putting in any additional effort to get higher grades is "time wasted down the drain".

PP told you he should call one of his top choices and just ask already. He's got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

No school is going to say anything definitive. They all claim to look at each application "holistically" and there are no absolute cut-offs. I don't think calling would yield the results that OP might want or need.

Some of them will be helpful, actually. You never know until you try, and right now, the family is at an impasse. What are your suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all for the helpful advice.

We would take child for ADHD testing for sure.

Three main things I am debating about are

1. Take away or set severe limits on the extracurricular unless grades improve or child putting enough work that shows improvement is visible in homework/tests. But I am debating why take away the kids strength? Would it be even more harmful in some unknown way.

But and this is probably the more pertinent one, is taking away the extracurricular would lead to a big blow up.

2. Is there any way to remediate the F - as in taking the credit recovery? Would the F be reduced to something like a D.

3. How common is an F? Is it something like say drunk driving arrest for adults or even something worse or say speeding ticket in terms of severity? Put another way, what is the right level of panic we should be feeling?

We knew child is not going to a top 100 college. Child aim is colleges in the 120 - 180 range. Is this even on the cards now?

I do understand the feedback and none of it is harsh. I think all of you are being very kind and somewhat gentle in fact.

If credit recovery were possible he would already be doing it. I’m a teacher and credit recovery is currently taking place at my school. You had to have a 54-59 to qualify and you spend 2 weeks remediating up to a 60. But you would have heard from his teacher or counselor already if that were the case. If he was below a 54 it’s just a straight F. He could retake it next year but I don’t know that it replaces the first F, I think you need to check with his counselor.

An F isn’t the end of the world. You’re going to get parents here acting like it is. However your kid needs to realize his academic trajectory is NOT the 120-180 top college route. He will get into *a* college but not an especially impressive one. But also, an impressive college doesn’t actually mean much in the long run for most people.

If he retakes it and earns a higher grade, the previous "F" should be removed/removable from his transcript. At least in APS. My kid's counselor recommended having an "F" course in another subject removed from their transcript (and GPA calculation). It should be possible as long as they still have enough credits and have met the other requirements for graduation.

I'm struggling to understand why people think a college outside of the "recognized top 180" is unimpressive. There are thousands of colleges and universities in this country. Most of them of rather comparable quality, including with at least some of those "top 180" schools. Just because I haven't heard of some school halfway across the country doesn't mean it's an "unimpressive" school. It very well may have an excellent reputation more regionally.

The F doesn't get removed from the transcript. I have spoken to many people in APS about this because I am a PP whose kid failed algebra II in school and had to re-take it over the summer. Their GPA calculation is based on the new grade, but the failing grade remains on the official transcript.

My kid's counselor removed the course (3rd year language) and the grade from the transcript. It does not appear on the transcript.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all for the helpful advice.

We would take child for ADHD testing for sure.

Three main things I am debating about are

1. Take away or set severe limits on the extracurricular unless grades improve or child putting enough work that shows improvement is visible in homework/tests. But I am debating why take away the kids strength? Would it be even more harmful in some unknown way.

But and this is probably the more pertinent one, is taking away the extracurricular would lead to a big blow up.

2. Is there any way to remediate the F - as in taking the credit recovery? Would the F be reduced to something like a D.

3. How common is an F? Is it something like say drunk driving arrest for adults or even something worse or say speeding ticket in terms of severity? Put another way, what is the right level of panic we should be feeling?

We knew child is not going to a top 100 college. Child aim is colleges in the 120 - 180 range. Is this even on the cards now?

I do understand the feedback and none of it is harsh. I think all of you are being very kind and somewhat gentle in fact.

If credit recovery were possible he would already be doing it. I’m a teacher and credit recovery is currently taking place at my school. You had to have a 54-59 to qualify and you spend 2 weeks remediating up to a 60. But you would have heard from his teacher or counselor already if that were the case. If he was below a 54 it’s just a straight F. He could retake it next year but I don’t know that it replaces the first F, I think you need to check with his counselor.

An F isn’t the end of the world. You’re going to get parents here acting like it is. However your kid needs to realize his academic trajectory is NOT the 120-180 top college route. He will get into *a* college but not an especially impressive one. But also, an impressive college doesn’t actually mean much in the long run for most people.

If he retakes it and earns a higher grade, the previous "F" should be removed/removable from his transcript. At least in APS. My kid's counselor recommended having an "F" course in another subject removed from their transcript (and GPA calculation). It should be possible as long as they still have enough credits and have met the other requirements for graduation.

I'm struggling to understand why people think a college outside of the "recognized top 180" is unimpressive. There are thousands of colleges and universities in this country. Most of them of rather comparable quality, including with at least some of those "top 180" schools. Just because I haven't heard of some school halfway across the country doesn't mean it's an "unimpressive" school. It very well may have an excellent reputation more regionally.

The F doesn't get removed from the transcript. I have spoken to many people in APS about this because I am a PP whose kid failed algebra II in school and had to re-take it over the summer. Their GPA calculation is based on the new grade, but the failing grade remains on the official transcript.

My kid's counselor removed the course (3rd year language) and the grade from the transcript. It does not appear on the transcript.

Was that recently and would you mind sharing the school? My child is at Tech and I've been repeatedly told that it stays on, which is certainly not ideal as they head into college application season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all for the helpful advice.

We would take child for ADHD testing for sure.

Three main things I am debating about are

1. Take away or set severe limits on the extracurricular unless grades improve or child putting enough work that shows improvement is visible in homework/tests. But I am debating why take away the kids strength? Would it be even more harmful in some unknown way.

But and this is probably the more pertinent one, is taking away the extracurricular would lead to a big blow up.

2. Is there any way to remediate the F - as in taking the credit recovery? Would the F be reduced to something like a D.

3. How common is an F? Is it something like say drunk driving arrest for adults or even something worse or say speeding ticket in terms of severity? Put another way, what is the right level of panic we should be feeling?

We knew child is not going to a top 100 college. Child aim is colleges in the 120 - 180 range. Is this even on the cards now?

I do understand the feedback and none of it is harsh. I think all of you are being very kind and somewhat gentle in fact.

If credit recovery were possible he would already be doing it. I’m a teacher and credit recovery is currently taking place at my school. You had to have a 54-59 to qualify and you spend 2 weeks remediating up to a 60. But you would have heard from his teacher or counselor already if that were the case. If he was below a 54 it’s just a straight F. He could retake it next year but I don’t know that it replaces the first F, I think you need to check with his counselor.

An F isn’t the end of the world. You’re going to get parents here acting like it is. However your kid needs to realize his academic trajectory is NOT the 120-180 top college route. He will get into *a* college but not an especially impressive one. But also, an impressive college doesn’t actually mean much in the long run for most people.

If he retakes it and earns a higher grade, the previous "F" should be removed/removable from his transcript. At least in APS. My kid's counselor recommended having an "F" course in another subject removed from their transcript (and GPA calculation). It should be possible as long as they still have enough credits and have met the other requirements for graduation.

I'm struggling to understand why people think a college outside of the "recognized top 180" is unimpressive. There are thousands of colleges and universities in this country. Most of them of rather comparable quality, including with at least some of those "top 180" schools. Just because I haven't heard of some school halfway across the country doesn't mean it's an "unimpressive" school. It very well may have an excellent reputation more regionally.

The F doesn't get removed from the transcript. I have spoken to many people in APS about this because I am a PP whose kid failed algebra II in school and had to re-take it over the summer. Their GPA calculation is based on the new grade, but the failing grade remains on the official transcript.

My kid's counselor removed the course (3rd year language) and the grade from the transcript. It does not appear on the transcript.

Was that recently and would you mind sharing the school? My child is at Tech and I've been repeatedly told that it stays on, which is certainly not ideal as they head into college application season.

It wasn't this past year, but the previous year. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. It was the counselor's instigation and I think we may have had to sign something agreeing to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all for the helpful advice.

We would take child for ADHD testing for sure.

Three main things I am debating about are

1. Take away or set severe limits on the extracurricular unless grades improve or child putting enough work that shows improvement is visible in homework/tests. But I am debating why take away the kids strength? Would it be even more harmful in some unknown way.

But and this is probably the more pertinent one, is taking away the extracurricular would lead to a big blow up.

2. Is there any way to remediate the F - as in taking the credit recovery? Would the F be reduced to something like a D.

3. How common is an F? Is it something like say drunk driving arrest for adults or even something worse or say speeding ticket in terms of severity? Put another way, what is the right level of panic we should be feeling?

We knew child is not going to a top 100 college. Child aim is colleges in the 120 - 180 range. Is this even on the cards now?

I do understand the feedback and none of it is harsh. I think all of you are being very kind and somewhat gentle in fact.

You have a lot of bad advice on this thread. An F in Alg 2 is not common. Alg 2 is more difficult than Algebra or Geometry. Your kid has to work and it won’t come to him easily, like other math classes may have. Don’t worry about the GPA and college. What’s done is done. He needs to retake the entire course. Don’t do credit recovery or summer school. This is a foundation course of topics he needs if he ever wants to take precalc or calculus. There is a college for everyone and one F won’t prevent admissions even to 4 year schools. - math teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all for the helpful advice.

We would take child for ADHD testing for sure.

Three main things I am debating about are

1. Take away or set severe limits on the extracurricular unless grades improve or child putting enough work that shows improvement is visible in homework/tests. But I am debating why take away the kids strength? Would it be even more harmful in some unknown way.

But and this is probably the more pertinent one, is taking away the extracurricular would lead to a big blow up.

2. Is there any way to remediate the F - as in taking the credit recovery? Would the F be reduced to something like a D.

3. How common is an F? Is it something like say drunk driving arrest for adults or even something worse or say speeding ticket in terms of severity? Put another way, what is the right level of panic we should be feeling?

We knew child is not going to a top 100 college. Child aim is colleges in the 120 - 180 range. Is this even on the cards now?

I do understand the feedback and none of it is harsh. I think all of you are being very kind and somewhat gentle in fact.

You have a lot of bad advice on this thread. An F in Alg 2 is not common. Alg 2 is more difficult than Algebra or Geometry. Your kid has to work and it won’t come to him easily, like other math classes may have. Don’t worry about the GPA and college. What’s done is done. He needs to retake the entire course. Don’t do credit recovery or summer school. This is a foundation course of topics he needs if he ever wants to take precalc or calculus. There is a college for everyone and one F won’t prevent admissions even to 4 year schools. - math teacher

Can you read? Many people have already said he needs to retake the class.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

1. Emailed AO's at the colleges of interest, waiting to hear back from two. One responded - they would need to see the full picture at end of Jr year, etc. and the message is pretty generic as in one course, one grade is not going to throw the application in reject pile.

2. Definitely going to retake class next year. Question is what if anything can be done to make the transcript look less bad.

3. Do have a tutor who would be starting on soon. Child did well in Algebra and Geometry, but needed a lot of parent push to do the work, a tutor who helped, etc. In Algebra 2 with the health issue, child gave us a picture of everything being find due to accommodations given by teacher but child did not follow through. Putting in the effort if we are on the child's tail would ensure both a grade and that the child learned the material. This part we are not worried too much.

4. We did talk to school but the meeting did not go well. We are blindsided. Child gave one picture to us (and not the correct one) and it was completely different picture from the teachers.

5. We need someone credible to say to child, no with an F and likely poor grades (as in mainly B's and few A's) in 11th grade, going to colleges 120-180 is not viable. I am not credible because I do not know myself. This would really the most impactful info that we can convey to him. Hence my request for info from this group while waiting for AO's to respond. I know there are no definite answers, but something like "You are unlikely to get into 120-180 with 3.1 GPA with an F. Maybe if you get an A on that course next year and get mainly A, A- and B+ in junior year, you would have a pretty good chance" would very likely solve the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

1. Emailed AO's at the colleges of interest, waiting to hear back from two. One responded - they would need to see the full picture at end of Jr year, etc. and the message is pretty generic as in one course, one grade is not going to throw the application in reject pile.

2. Definitely going to retake class next year. Question is what if anything can be done to make the transcript look less bad.

3. Do have a tutor who would be starting on soon. Child did well in Algebra and Geometry, but needed a lot of parent push to do the work, a tutor who helped, etc. In Algebra 2 with the health issue, child gave us a picture of everything being find due to accommodations given by teacher but child did not follow through. Putting in the effort if we are on the child's tail would ensure both a grade and that the child learned the material. This part we are not worried too much.

4. We did talk to school but the meeting did not go well. We are blindsided. Child gave one picture to us (and not the correct one) and it was completely different picture from the teachers.

5. We need someone credible to say to child, no with an F and likely poor grades (as in mainly B's and few A's) in 11th grade, going to colleges 120-180 is not viable. I am not credible because I do not know myself. This would really the most impactful info that we can convey to him. Hence my request for info from this group while waiting for AO's to respond. I know there are no definite answers, but something like "You are unlikely to get into 120-180 with 3.1 GPA with an F. Maybe if you get an A on that course next year and get mainly A, A- and B+ in junior year, you would have a pretty good chance" would very likely solve the problem.

Honestly, calm down. This post is like so many parents and some of the reasons teachers are leaving. It’s all too much.

You were blindsided? Parents believe everything their kid says. You are so hyper focused on grades and getting into specific colleges for your kid who hasn’t even started 11th grade yet. Reread your post. I have so many parents like you ever year. There is no one “credible” who can say anything to your 16 year old son in the summer that will suddenly make him care about getting into the school you want him to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

1. Emailed AO's at the colleges of interest, waiting to hear back from two. One responded - they would need to see the full picture at end of Jr year, etc. and the message is pretty generic as in one course, one grade is not going to throw the application in reject pile.

2. Definitely going to retake class next year. Question is what if anything can be done to make the transcript look less bad.

3. Do have a tutor who would be starting on soon. Child did well in Algebra and Geometry, but needed a lot of parent push to do the work, a tutor who helped, etc. In Algebra 2 with the health issue, child gave us a picture of everything being find due to accommodations given by teacher but child did not follow through. Putting in the effort if we are on the child's tail would ensure both a grade and that the child learned the material. This part we are not worried too much.

4. We did talk to school but the meeting did not go well. We are blindsided. Child gave one picture to us (and not the correct one) and it was completely different picture from the teachers.

5. We need someone credible to say to child, no with an F and likely poor grades (as in mainly B's and few A's) in 11th grade, going to colleges 120-180 is not viable. I am not credible because I do not know myself. This would really the most impactful info that we can convey to him. Hence my request for info from this group while waiting for AO's to respond. I know there are no definite answers, but something like "You are unlikely to get into 120-180 with 3.1 GPA with an F. Maybe if you get an A on that course next year and get mainly A, A- and B+ in junior year, you would have a pretty good chance" would very likely solve the problem.

Honestly, calm down. This post is like so many parents and some of the reasons teachers are leaving. It’s all too much.

You were blindsided? Parents believe everything their kid says. You are so hyper focused on grades and getting into specific colleges for your kid who hasn’t even started 11th grade yet. Reread your post. I have so many parents like you ever year. There is no one “credible” who can say anything to your 16 year old son in the summer that will suddenly make him care about getting into the school you want him to attend.

You got opposite of what is going on.

We never cared about college ranking. We let our child pursue whatever interests them. When child has fallen behind in math and other subjects we had a tutor to get child on track.

Child has a very specific school in mind that is good for his extracurricular. It was entirely the child's interest to get into that specific college. Without naming that school which may id the student I am giving a generic ranking 120-180 to give a rough idea of the college. We are not pushing for it or any other college. Child got the idea that given this extracurricular, grades dont matter all that much, even an F was taken very casually. All I am doing is asking if that is true! If that is the case, we can just let things be as they are. If not we can at least pass the child the info they need to make the right decision. Telling a child, "if you are really that interested in school A, it looks like they mostly take kids who have you solid B or B+, you might want to shoot for that".

Yes we believed what child said before we talked to the teacher. So yes we were blindsided. Now we know the teacher is telling the truth. We sided with the teacher and school on this.

It is because of parents like me teachers are leaving schools?

[Anonymous]

College is not at all the immediate point for this.

Your child should be mortified by this F, and eager to repair, by showing he can learn the material. This a foundational for future education and career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

1. Emailed AO's at the colleges of interest, waiting to hear back from two. One responded - they would need to see the full picture at end of Jr year, etc. and the message is pretty generic as in one course, one grade is not going to throw the application in reject pile.

2. Definitely going to retake class next year. Question is what if anything can be done to make the transcript look less bad.

3. Do have a tutor who would be starting on soon. Child did well in Algebra and Geometry, but needed a lot of parent push to do the work, a tutor who helped, etc. In Algebra 2 with the health issue, child gave us a picture of everything being find due to accommodations given by teacher but child did not follow through. Putting in the effort if we are on the child's tail would ensure both a grade and that the child learned the material. This part we are not worried too much.

4. We did talk to school but the meeting did not go well. We are blindsided. Child gave one picture to us (and not the correct one) and it was completely different picture from the teachers.

5. We need someone credible to say to child, no with an F and likely poor grades (as in mainly B's and few A's) in 11th grade, going to colleges 120-180 is not viable. I am not credible because I do not know myself. This would really the most impactful info that we can convey to him. Hence my request for info from this group while waiting for AO's to respond. I know there are no definite answers, but something like "You are unlikely to get into 120-180 with 3.1 GPA with an F. Maybe if you get an A on that course next year and get mainly A, A- and B+ in junior year, you would have a pretty good chance" would very likely solve the problem.

Honestly, calm down. This post is like so many parents and some of the reasons teachers are leaving. It’s all too much.

You were blindsided? Parents believe everything their kid says. You are so hyper focused on grades and getting into specific colleges for your kid who hasn’t even started 11th grade yet. Reread your post. I have so many parents like you ever year. There is no one “credible” who can say anything to your 16 year old son in the summer that will suddenly make him care about getting into the school you want him to attend.

You got opposite of what is going on.

We never cared about college ranking. We let our child pursue whatever interests them. When child has fallen behind in math and other subjects we had a tutor to get child on track.

Child has a very specific school in mind that is good for his extracurricular. It was entirely the child's interest to get into that specific college. Without naming that school which may id the student I am giving a generic ranking 120-180 to give a rough idea of the college. We are not pushing for it or any other college. Child got the idea that given this extracurricular, grades dont matter all that much, even an F was taken very casually. All I am doing is asking if that is true! If that is the case, we can just let things be as they are. If not we can at least pass the child the info they need to make the right decision. Telling a child, "if you are really that interested in school A, it looks like they mostly take kids who have you solid B or B+, you might want to shoot for that".

Yes we believed what child said before we talked to the teacher. So yes we were blindsided. Now we know the teacher is telling the truth. We sided with the teacher and school on this.

It is because of parents like me teachers are leaving schools?

How are you talking to a teacher about the Alg 2 grade this late in June or any time after a final grade is posted.

Sorry, maybe I was harsh. I’m tired so much is expected of us by admin now. It’s difficult to hear any parent was blindsided when everything we do has tp be online now, including notes, assignments and all upcoming assessments. Grades are online too. I have parents tell me they had no idea their kid was failing and then it’s the end of the year and they admit to not checking anything all year. Maybe I work in a much different school than where your son attends.

[Anonymous]

The math teacher and others telling you that this isn't a big deal, or that you're the problem for caring too much and focusing on grades are very naive idiots who don't know how selective the process has become.

Those of us who have just had kids graduate will tell you that an F in a core subject is really bad. However, no one can tell you what you want to hear, OP: ie, that this is make the 120-180 colleges impossible to get into. No one has that sort of information, unless the colleges themselves suggest something. Perhaps you could shell out money for a one hour consult with a private college counselor (a credible expert, right?), to have a conversation with you and your child, and make recommendations as to what should happen next and how best to recover from the F.

But really, as a parent of teens, one of which is now in college, I would just lay down the law and stay on this kid with tutors and assignment checks (and possibly ADHD eval) until he gets it. The "we can do this the easy way, or the hard way" conversation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

1. Emailed AO's at the colleges of interest, waiting to hear back from two. One responded - they would need to see the full picture at end of Jr year, etc. and the message is pretty generic as in one course, one grade is not going to throw the application in reject pile.

2. Definitely going to retake class next year. Question is what if anything can be done to make the transcript look less bad.

3. Do have a tutor who would be starting on soon. Child did well in Algebra and Geometry, but needed a lot of parent push to do the work, a tutor who helped, etc. In Algebra 2 with the health issue, child gave us a picture of everything being find due to accommodations given by teacher but child did not follow through. Putting in the effort if we are on the child's tail would ensure both a grade and that the child learned the material. This part we are not worried too much.

4. We did talk to school but the meeting did not go well. We are blindsided. Child gave one picture to us (and not the correct one) and it was completely different picture from the teachers.

5. We need someone credible to say to child, no with an F and likely poor grades (as in mainly B's and few A's) in 11th grade, going to colleges 120-180 is not viable. I am not credible because I do not know myself. This would really the most impactful info that we can convey to him. Hence my request for info from this group while waiting for AO's to respond. I know there are no definite answers, but something like "You are unlikely to get into 120-180 with 3.1 GPA with an F. Maybe if you get an A on that course next year and get mainly A, A- and B+ in junior year, you would have a pretty good chance" would very likely solve the problem.

Honestly, calm down. This post is like so many parents and some of the reasons teachers are leaving. It’s all too much.

You were blindsided? Parents believe everything their kid says. You are so hyper focused on grades and getting into specific colleges for your kid who hasn’t even started 11th grade yet. Reread your post. I have so many parents like you ever year. There is no one “credible” who can say anything to your 16 year old son in the summer that will suddenly make him care about getting into the school you want him to attend.

You got opposite of what is going on.

We never cared about college ranking. We let our child pursue whatever interests them. When child has fallen behind in math and other subjects we had a tutor to get child on track.

Child has a very specific school in mind that is good for his extracurricular. It was entirely the child's interest to get into that specific college. Without naming that school which may id the student I am giving a generic ranking 120-180 to give a rough idea of the college. We are not pushing for it or any other college. Child got the idea that given this extracurricular, grades dont matter all that much, even an F was taken very casually. All I am doing is asking if that is true! If that is the case, we can just let things be as they are. If not we can at least pass the child the info they need to make the right decision. Telling a child, "if you are really that interested in school A, it looks like they mostly take kids who have you solid B or B+, you might want to shoot for that".

Yes we believed what child said before we talked to the teacher. So yes we were blindsided. Now we know the teacher is telling the truth. We sided with the teacher and school on this.

It is because of parents like me teachers are leaving schools?

How are you talking to a teacher about the Alg 2 grade this late in June or any time after a final grade is posted.

Sorry, maybe I was harsh. I’m tired so much is expected of us by admin now. It’s difficult to hear any parent was blindsided when everything we do has tp be online now, including notes, assignments and all upcoming assessments. Grades are online too. I have parents tell me they had no idea their kid was failing and then it’s the end of the year and they admit to not checking anything all year. Maybe I work in a much different school than where your son attends.

A lot of us have been blindsided... by our kids, for not communicating. I don't think the OP was necessarily faulting the teacher or the counselor. Although, some heads up would be nice when my usually straight A kid starts getting Ds in one subject! But with counselors being forced to take on hundreds of files, I understand things fall through the cracks.

[Anonymous]

I feel like this quote that I pulled from your previous post is about the most you can say:

"if you are really that interested in school A, it looks like they mostly take kids who have you solid B or B+, you might want to shoot for that".

They HAVE to be prepared that they'll need several safety schools. I feel for you -- had a somewhat similar semester with one of my kids. It's hard, because we have to be honest about the fact that they're limiting their options, while still encouraging them to turn things around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

1. Emailed AO's at the colleges of interest, waiting to hear back from two. One responded - they would need to see the full picture at end of Jr year, etc. and the message is pretty generic as in one course, one grade is not going to throw the application in reject pile.

2. Definitely going to retake class next year. Question is what if anything can be done to make the transcript look less bad.

3. Do have a tutor who would be starting on soon. Child did well in Algebra and Geometry, but needed a lot of parent push to do the work, a tutor who helped, etc. In Algebra 2 with the health issue, child gave us a picture of everything being find due to accommodations given by teacher but child did not follow through. Putting in the effort if we are on the child's tail would ensure both a grade and that the child learned the material. This part we are not worried too much.

4. We did talk to school but the meeting did not go well. We are blindsided. Child gave one picture to us (and not the correct one) and it was completely different picture from the teachers.

5. We need someone credible to say to child, no with an F and likely poor grades (as in mainly B's and few A's) in 11th grade, going to colleges 120-180 is not viable. I am not credible because I do not know myself. This would really the most impactful info that we can convey to him. Hence my request for info from this group while waiting for AO's to respond. I know there are no definite answers, but something like "You are unlikely to get into 120-180 with 3.1 GPA with an F. Maybe if you get an A on that course next year and get mainly A, A- and B+ in junior year, you would have a pretty good chance" would very likely solve the problem.

Honestly, calm down. This post is like so many parents and some of the reasons teachers are leaving. It’s all too much.

You were blindsided? Parents believe everything their kid says. You are so hyper focused on grades and getting into specific colleges for your kid who hasn’t even started 11th grade yet. Reread your post. I have so many parents like you ever year. There is no one “credible” who can say anything to your 16 year old son in the summer that will suddenly make him care about getting into the school you want him to attend.

You got opposite of what is going on.

We never cared about college ranking. We let our child pursue whatever interests them. When child has fallen behind in math and other subjects we had a tutor to get child on track.

Child has a very specific school in mind that is good for his extracurricular. It was entirely the child's interest to get into that specific college. Without naming that school which may id the student I am giving a generic ranking 120-180 to give a rough idea of the college. We are not pushing for it or any other college. Child got the idea that given this extracurricular, grades dont matter all that much, even an F was taken very casually. All I am doing is asking if that is true! If that is the case, we can just let things be as they are. If not we can at least pass the child the info they need to make the right decision. Telling a child, "if you are really that interested in school A, it looks like they mostly take kids who have you solid B or B+, you might want to shoot for that".

Yes we believed what child said before we talked to the teacher. So yes we were blindsided. Now we know the teacher is telling the truth. We sided with the teacher and school on this.

It is because of parents like me teachers are leaving schools?

If child has a specific school in mind, then child should fully research the admissions criteria for that school. If child is banking on a scholarship for his extracurricular from that school (ie, sports scholarship that doesn't always require the same minimum GPA as all the other students), he needs to have some detailed conversations with the coaches as well. If he really wants to get in, he should be fully focused on finding out what they expect and meeting (exceeding) those expectations.