Help! Will 2 "C" grades in my sophomore year of H.S. lower my chances of getting into colleges like Cornell?

I just finished my sophomore year in high school and I received my report card/semester grades. I have two "C" grades in Honors Chemistry (C+) and Honors Geometry (C). I have one "B" grade in Spanish II (B-). All of my other subjects have A's. Will this hurt my chance of getting into colleges like Cornell? I have researched Cornell University and I liked it a lot.





I haven't taken the mandatory tests yet, like the SAT/ACT. I have many extra-curricular activities such as being on the Student Council, Theatre, Being very active in 2 clubs, and taking on leadership roles in our school traditions.





If I take on-line courses to make up the two "C" grades, would that be okay? I'm trying to take a couple of extra classes online such as leadership classes and such. At our school, if you get a D or below, that's when you have to repeat the course. I don't have to repeat the course but I was hoping to re-take it again just to show the colleges that i really want to make it up.





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Help! Will 2 "C" grades in my sophomore year of H.S. lower my chances of getting into colleges like Cornell?
I would say your grades are rather low for Cornell or any Ivy League school for that matter. However, if you are really interested in going to Cornell I would suggest you contact the Cornell admissions office (website http://www.cornell.edu/admissions/ ) and ask them what you can to. They are going to be the people who are doing the recruiting for students and they can give you a better idea as to what would be best for you if you are really interested in attending their school.





Good Luck!!!
Reply:I am in a similar situation as well, with the exception that I'm not applying to a prestigious school like Cornell. Does anyone know whether C's can be made up at either summer school, online, or at a community college? Report It

Reply:Don't forget-honors courses are graded on a 5.0 scale. A C+ in honors Chem is like a B+ in regular. I'm not positive about Cornell, but most Universities have a balance system. If your GPA is high and you don't do well on your ACT it will balance out-and vice versa. However, you have to have the right numbers to get considered before your activities will even come up. Do your best to keep your grades up, and prepare for the ACT and you'll do fine. Don't obsess over the C's, you took a chance to challenge yourself.
Reply:Better than re-taking these courses would be to take the courses that follow them and do well. Usually people take Algebra II at the same time or before they take chemistry. Take Algebra II this year, some kind of precalculus class next summer, and then calculus and AP chemistry in your senior year.
Reply:Yes, 2 "C" grades will hurt your chances, especially from a prestigious school like Cornell. But don't despair, work hard and pull up your grades in your junior year. I don't think extra classes on-line in a leadership class will help much. Can you retake the two problem courses in summer school?
Reply:It depends, you have to wait and see what your GPA is when you are applying. If it is between a 4.1-4.8 you have a good shot. They also look at extracurricular activities, attendance and behavior.