Anonymous wrote:A C should never be considered acceptable for college applicants but a C in an AP class is better than a C in a non-AP class. But this is one of the problems with kids pushing into classes where they struggle. And parents often do the pushing, though I don't have any reason to think that is what occurred here but I think the message kids should get is that when they are in these advanced classes they need to kick ass, otherwise, a college may just assume the student was in a class where she did not belong.

The OP's daughter got B+ and B in this class. I'd guess her final grade, if you average the four quarters together, would be around a B.

Anonymous wrote:A C should never be considered acceptable for college applicants but a C in an AP class is better than a C in a non-AP class. But this is one of the problems with kids pushing into classes where they struggle. And parents often do the pushing, though I don't have any reason to think that is what occurred here but I think the message kids should get is that when they are in these advanced classes they need to kick ass, otherwise, a college may just assume the student was in a class where she did not belong.

The reason I "push" my son into these classes is that I know he can do the work, as do his teachers (including the one who recommended him, along with just a handful of others) to take an AP class as a freshman. (Without this rec, I never would have sought an AP class for a freshman; honestly the notion that a 14 year old can do so-called college-level work is silly.) Of course, just because he can do the work (as evidenced by his score of 4 on the AP exam as a freshman) doesn't mean he always does (as evidenced by his grade of a C one quarter, thoroughly earned through slacking off). I would rather have him engaged in demanding, absorbing work and earning Bs than have him skate thru high school in easier courses. I care more about what he is learning (including from his peers in higher level classes) than what his grades are. OTOH, when we know the work would be a genuine struggle for him we take a different approach. It is unlikely that my son will be taking AP chem or calculus, for example.

Anonymous wrote:A C should never be considered acceptable for college applicants but a C in an AP class is better than a C in a non-AP class. But this is one of the problems with kids pushing into classes where they struggle. And parents often do the pushing, though I don't have any reason to think that is what occurred here but I think the message kids should get is that when they are in these advanced classes they need to kick ass, otherwise, a college may just assume the student was in a class where she did not belong.

This is just silly.

I have been an interviewer for Harvard in the area for a while. The admissions officer tells prospective freshmen that one C is not disqualifying. They like having the leeway to accept a student who is a bit lopsided in terms of talent. Colleges are generally familiar with schools' grading schemes, especially if they see a lot of applicants from your daughter's school. If you can afford a tutor, that would be a good route to take, since improvement is generally regarded favorably by admissions officers.

A C should never be considered acceptable for college applicants but a C in an AP class is better than a C in a non-AP class. But this is one of the problems with kids pushing into classes where they struggle. And parents often do the pushing, though I don't have any reason to think that is what occurred here but I think the message kids should get is that when they are in these advanced classes they need to kick ass, otherwise, a college may just assume the student was in a class where she did not belong.

Really? I wonder how all the 3,000+ colleges in the United States manage to find students to fill their seats? My daughter gets the exact same grades in regular, Honors and AP classes and they are usually Bs. She probably doesn't even deserve to be in any classes. Maybe a GED.

Anonymous wrote:A C should never be considered acceptable for college applicants but a C in an AP class is better than a C in a non-AP class. But this is one of the problems with kids pushing into classes where they struggle. And parents often do the pushing, though I don't have any reason to think that is what occurred here but I think the message kids should get is that when they are in these advanced classes they need to kick ass, otherwise, a college may just assume the student was in a class where she did not belong.

You're kidding, right? One or two C's on a report card is not going to harm anybody's chance at college, unless you're talking about Ivies. There are thousands of schools out there and a couple of C's is not the end of the world.

Anonymous wrote:DD, 10th grader, is running a C right now in APUSH at a private. Hopefully she could it up to B..... question came right on time.

That's a good wake up call for course selection for the next 2 years. Obviously AP history isn't her thing.

A C should never be considered acceptable for college applicants but a C in an AP class is better than a C in a non-AP class. But this is one of the problems with kids pushing into classes where they struggle. And parents often do the pushing, though I don't have any reason to think that is what occurred here but I think the message kids should get is that when they are in these advanced classes they need to kick ass, otherwise, a college may just assume the student was in a class where she did not belong.

DD, 10th grader, is running a C right now in APUSH at a private. Hopefully she could it up to B..... question came right on time.

Anonymous wrote:My DS had a C in an AP class for one quarter, but received a 4 on the exam and was accepted to a handful of great universities. As long as the overall GPA is good, one or even a few C's is not a problem.

My DC also got a C in an AP class one quarter and scored a 4 on the exam (in a year when only 19% of the takers of that test scored a 4 or a 5). He hasn't applied to college yet, but we aren't worried. (He also will be aiming more for in-state public and second-tier privates that offer merit aid.)

I think the problem is that a C shows she really may not be able to handle an AP class. We have always heard that it is better to get a B in an AP than an A in a regular, but if you are getting Cs then you should consider enrolling in non-AP.

If she has a 3.8, I think it's fine

My DS had a C in an AP class for one quarter, but received a 4 on the exam and was accepted to a handful of great universities. As long as the overall GPA is good, one or even a few C's is not a problem.

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.

In this situation I wouldn't be too worried. Especially if her SAT scores are decent and she has a 3.8. I graduated in the last five years, and I had several all AP/honors type-friends who had a C or two on their transcript but otherwise fairly strong grades (me included!). The schools we went to or got in to included Reed, Wesleyan, Northwestern, Oberlin, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, American University, and University of Illinois Urbana Champagne (for engineering). Not too shabby. I know the landscape has changed somewhat, but top 50-100 should still be fine, and merit aid should still be doable with those kind of grades. Try to avoid getting another C, but it's not the kiss of death unless you were dead set on getting into Harvard.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I agree, I think she is fine.