Doing badly in high school...

[yesman]

Well, maybe I'm not doing TOO badly. You see, I am in the IB program, which is a rigirous high school program designed to simulate university. In this program, our final marks are basically determined by our exams, since our exams are worth 80%. In IB, we have predicted marks, which are based off your coursework, and final marks. If your predicted mark is, say, a 95, and you get a 70 on the final exam, your final mark will be around 75 or a high 70. If you get a predicted mark of a 100, and you get a 50 on the exam, you would get a very high 50. In other words, your predicted mark determines whether you get the low or high end of the range of your exam mark.

My predicted mark for calculus was a 96. HOWEVER, the exam, which was worth 80% just to reiterate, was a mess. My OCD flared, and I was worried about the smallest things, such as whether or not IB would receive my exam, or whether I wrote the numbers correctly, or whether I was even writing the correct exam! I wasn't 100% focused, but I did manage to answer every question in some way, except for the second paper, in which I left 2 questions blank.

I am very scared about my calculus mark now. I wanted to get into a science program in a good school in Ontario. However, if my calculus mark is low, I can't do that! Does anyone know of a way to get into a good uni for science with a low calc mark? I'm talking really low-what if I got something in the 50s?

 

[jaim38]

If your score is too low to get credit, you can take the AP test in Calculus. I think some Canadian universities accept AP credit. You can try taking a Calculus course at a nearby community college over the summer.

 

[akala]

I think if you did that well before the exam you shouldn't worry about your mark. I hope you did well though. It all depends on what program you're trying to get into. Some sciences such as nursing don't look at your calculus just your overall mark. I think the best place to ask this question is here: Studentawards Forum
If you already have an account you can post it there, you'll get a lot more responses from people who are students and might be in the same situation.

 

[vj288]

If I were a betting man, I would say you did ok on the exam, you're just freaking out like you did on the exam. Wait for your results, and if you truly did poorly you can start to worry then. You sound like a nerd to me though (Which I mean in the most complimentary way possible :bigsmile and I'm sure even unfocused you did ok. I know it's easier said than done, but don't worry about it. You'll be ok, no matter the result.

 

[yesman]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

VJ288: LOL yeah, I am a bit weird, but don't worry, a bunch of people are too.


Jaim38: I have decided that if I get a REALLY bad mark, then I will probably just retake the course at my school again. I don't think there's any need for AP in Ontario.

Akala: Thanks, I'll try Studentawards!