Recently, I received an email from the mom of one of my juniors, Sean, whose goal is to attend a highly ranked engineering school, majoring in mechanical engineering. Sean is currently holding a 3.92 GPA, is on the football team, and in two honor societies at his school. The top two colleges he’s interested in are MIT and Chapel Hill.
I began working with Sean in early January. His mom wrote, “I just learned that Sean is failing his AP Chemistry class and only has two days to bring up his grade before the semester ends. Does this mean his chances of getting into Chapel Hill or MIT are over? Is there anything that he can do now to pass and improve his grade?”
After calming his mom, I spoke with Sean later that day. He confessed that he neglected his Chemistry assignments and hadn’t really studied for a few of the tests. His current grade was 52%.
Sean’s Story: A Junior With Big Dreams
Sean explained, “Chemistry is hard, which surprised me. Everything usually comes easily to me, and I don’t have to study much. My focus last fall was on winning football games, not on my college admissions prospects. I got behind and I tried to catch up but there was just too much material. This teacher is also hard. I talked with him and asked him if he could give me extra credit. He told me that wouldn’t help because there’s just too much I don’t understand. I really want to get into a good engineering school. Please Ms. Dianne, what can I do?”
The Reality of a Low Grade on a Transcript
Sean and I discussed what went wrong and what he could have done differently earlier in the semester so that this wouldn’t happen. I said, “Sean, you’re going to have challenging teachers and difficult material. What steps do you think you can take now so that this doesn’t happen again either in high school or college?”
He committed to a plan of asking for help early on in the semester, either from his teacher or friends. I also offered my support in helping him brainstorm solutions to problems as they arise. I plan on checking in about his grades as he completes his junior and senior years.
Finding A Way Forward: Exploring Options
Armed with the knowledge that Sean would definitely fail this science course, which would reduce his GPA and be on his transcript, Sean, his mom and I met to create an action plan to help his college admissions process.
Here are some of the steps we considered:
- Because Sean attends a school that is on a semester schedule, I asked him to meet with his counselor immediately to possibly retake this Chemistry class spring semester or through the community college as a dual enrollment class. His mom thought that would be the best option as the F on his transcript would disappear and be replaced with a higher grade before senior year.
- Retake the class in the fall of his senior year, pass it with a higher grade, and explain the F he received his junior year. There is a space on the Common App for students to explain any extenuating circumstances, including why they failed a class.
- Don’t retake the Chemistry class. This is the first low grade on his transcript, and he won’t have room in his senior year schedule to retake this class. He can write about what happened on his Common App and hope for the best.
- Revise his college list to only include engineering schools with a 10% or higher acceptance rate. Right now, MIT’s acceptance rate is 4%; Chapel Hill’s is 8.2%
Action Plan For Retaking Chemistry
Sean and Mom discussed all his options to help his college admissions prospects.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t an AP Chemistry or dual enrollment class offered in the spring semester. Sean talked with the community college, who did offer a college level Chemistry class in the summer. This would mean that Sean would have to give up a family vacation to Europe that he was really looking forward to. Sean decided to take this option.
Adjusting College Goals and Expectations
His parents also required that he take money out of his savings account to pay for the course. Mom is currently negotiating with an uncle to move in with Sean for the six weeks this summer. And the high school has promised to add the ‘new’ Chem grade as soon as it is posted to his transcript, delete the F, and recalculate his GPA. Sean and Mom are also reconsidering some of the more challenging engineering schools on his list.
Learning from Mistakes: What Colleges Really Want
I encouraged Sean to write about this experience on his common app. Colleges are not only accepting students who have the highest GPA, a 1600 on an SAT, top-notch essays, and remarkable recommendations.
It is an unfortunate myth, and one held by many students and parents, that there is nothing to be done when a student gets a low grade on a transcript but to give up on college dreams.
NOT TRUE.
It’s Never Impossible To Reach College Dreams
What colleges want to see is a teenager who has made mistakes, reflected upon them, and learned from those mistake. The college admissions process can be daunting, overwhelming and not transparent at all. It is NEVER impossible, though.
How I Can Help You Navigate College Admissions
If you have a child whose dreams include a college diploma, I can help. Reach out to me at dianne@launchingcollegesuccess.com or 240-285-1920
