Would this huge mistake not allow me to get into good colleges?
I am currently a junior in high school. I took 3 (technically 4 since I did one outside) APs sophomore year and had As in all of my classes except for one. I took calc bc sophomore year and it was extremely challenging and rigorous. My teacher was extremely difficult and I got an F in both semesters. I know colleges don't care if your teachers are hard or not, but I feel this would affect my chances a lot. I redid them by taking an online course called "UC scout" and redid both semesters with As in them. I didn't get college credit for it, but the A grade appears on my transcript. The only problem is that the F and A would be in my transcript. Does anyone know if this eliminates my chances of getting into the top 20 colleges or prestigious colleges? My current cumulative GPA is 3.7 (for freshman + sophomore), and if I get a 4.0 junior year (current year) my GPA would be 3.8. Would the top 20 colleges see the F and instantly reject me or would they think that since I redid the course with an A it would show improvement? I just want to know if this would really affect me since my targets are T20 colleges for cs.
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Hi @sid200y, thanks for your post and thanks for your honesty.
I think it was the best choice to redo your AP Calc BC on the UC Scout platform. You certainly redeemed yourself with the As. But you also learned a valuable lesson in life which is not to get ahead of your skis and be too overconfident with taking on challenges and tasks you are not ready for. Few if any super smart people take AP Calc BC in 10th grade and come out with an A because it's meant to be a 12th-grade follow-up to AP Calc AB.
So as a result of this you will not have a super high GPA like other T20 college admits but you have a great story that you can expand upon in the add'l information section of the common app. I would take the time to write about your motivation to correct the failure of AP Calc BC and how you turned around this mistake and potential tragedy to a positive ending. I think most people that will read your explanation would admire your conviction and resiliency and persistence. I honestly do not think this ding on your record is an indication of something anyone should be concerned with because you took it upon yourself to fix it and redeem yourself.
Your As and Fs and AP Calc BC will not prevent your college acceptance anywhere but the other components of your application might. Therefore stop focusing on this event, and focus on making sure you have the best essays, the best recommendations, the best ECs, and leadership roles. Academics are clearly important but make sure the rest of your application is very compelling. Often the most qualified applicant doesn't get into a T20 school but the most compelling one does. Be that candidate instead. Don't try to have 12-15 APs, that's not going to matter as much as the rest of your narrative.
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