Doing badly in high school but want to go to uni for science

[airbusman]

Doing badly in high school but want to go to uni for science :(

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?

 

[Choppy]

Unless things have changed drastically, a single low mark will not prevent you from admission to a good university in Ontario provided you have a decent average. Undergraduate admissions tend to look at which courses you have taken (i.e. whether you got credit for them) and your average.

Another bit of advice I might offer is to try as much as possible to avoid fretting. You don't know what your mark was, so entertaining doomsday scenarios will only give you stress. Once you get it back, you can deal with it. If it is really low and you think it might effect your chances at admission, go talk with a guidance councillor. In an absolute worst case scenario, you don't get in anywhere and retake the course to upgrade your mark. Sure that would suck, but in the grand scheme of your life it would only be a minor wobble.

 

[TheAbsoluTurk]

Most people in Canada do not get to do IB.

Acheiving 96 on an IB course is a wonderful accomplishment that gives me the indincation that, on your worst day, the lowest you can get is around 70.

Where as, if your 'prediction mark' was 80, then on your worst day you could get 55 or something. Do you get what I mean?

Whatever the case, you know more about calculus than at least 90% of people in your country at your age.

 

[Mépris]

At any rate, Canadian universities will probably let you skip some intro courses provided you score 5 or above in HL subjects. (going off the top of my head here; check for specifics)

Entry requirements for people having done A-Levels or IB are significantly more lax than for those with a Canadian high school diploma. I know people who got into McGill, for e.g, with scores ranging from 28 to 31. Last I checked, one needed Bs in only two relevant A-Level subjects (for a physics degree, that's A-Level math and physics) to study at UWaterloo.

Therefore, keep working hard. Let the chips fall where they may. Being this neurotic will only complicate your life, haha!

 

[Mépris]

At any rate, Canadian universities will probably let you skip some intro courses provided you score 5 or above in HL subjects. (going off the top of my head here; check for specifics)

Entry requirements for people having done A-Levels or IB are significantly more lax than for those with a Canadian high school diploma. I know people who got into McGill, for e.g, with scores ranging from 28 to 31. Last I checked, one needed Bs in only two relevant A-Level subjects (for a physics degree, that's A-Level math and physics) to study at UWaterloo.

Therefore, keep working hard. Let the chips fall. Being this neurotic will only complicate your life, haha!

 

[airbusman]

Thanks for the good advice everyone. You know what, I've calmed down, and I've realized that if I do bad in calculus, I can always retake it. After all, two of my friends retook courses (one retook advanced functions while the other did advanced functions and calc) and they both made it into uni (Y).