Can I get into a good college with grades like these?

Question

I'm a junior at a prestigious high school. I'm taking AP Spanish, honors American literature, AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, and AP US History.
I have A's and B's in all my classes except Calc and Phys.
I'm good at writing, and I want to be an English major.
However, I'm worried that I won't be able to get into a good college. See, I have a C in Calc and an F in Physics. As hard as I try, I just can't can't seem to get all the math and science stuff right. And these classes are really hard because they're college level classes, and I'm really struggling right now.
So to boil it down: I want be an English major (and hopefully never see any math or science again). I want to get into a good enough college where the English department is very good. I'm taking AP Calc and Physics, but my grades in there suck. Is there any chance that I can get into a good college even though my math and science grades suck?

Answer 1

It depends on your "A's and B's" - if you have more A's-B+'s, then you probably don't have much to worry about. I did pretty poorly (like C-) my junior year, and I think I only had like 2 A's, but I still got into my top choice (best small liberal arts in....the world, just kidding, but it is the top)! Granted I was crazy about my extracurriculars, and I has a few awards (national merit/national achievement, officer in NHS, varsity sports for 2 seasons, volunteered/community service, blah blah blah). My SAT's weren't that great, but they were within the 25%-75% range.

I'm not sure about the F in physics, but grades aren't everything.

Sorry for blabbing (I hope I didn't sound too braggy), but I just wanted to show you that you don't need to be a perfect student to get into a "good" school. In my opinion, all they're looking for is a student of substance, who will use his or her place in this college as a way to better the world, etc, etc. They're looking for students who would represent their school well. If you're the best writer you can be, and you're ready to change the world (or whatever), then I think you have a great shot!

Good luck!

Answer 2

It isn't clear from this what your overall GPA is. "All A's and B's" could be all As with one B, or all Bs with one A. So the question is, even with your problems with math and science, is your GPA high enough to get you into a good college? Also, we don't know about your SAT scores, which could be a problem since math plays a significant role.

The other question is what you consider to be a good college. With Bs, a C and an F, you won't be looking at elite colleges, but that doesn't mean that you can't get into a reasonably good place. If your GPA is over about a 3.3, and your SAT scores are okay, you should be fine. If your overall GPA is a 3.0 or below, your best bet may be to start out at a community college, then transfer later on to a four-year college.

Answer 3

Depends on your definition of a good college. Keep working hard and try to get those grades up. The colleges probably won't look too highly on an F, but a C in a non-major class might not warrant too much notice. Make sure you do well on your ACT or SAT as well. I wouldn't recommend taking upper level math and science if you don't need them to graduate or for any major you might have in the future.

I majored in English and had to take College Algebra and 2 natural science classes, so you will have to see math and science again but it won't be upper level.

Answer 4

You should head over to collegeconfidential.com and ask this question on their message boards...they'd probably be able to help more.