Concern about grades

[bayaba]

So I am a Junior now at a Mid West college majoring in Econ and I am interested in Master in Financial Engineering. I dont have high profile like a 4.0 so I am aiming schools like Kent State. The problem is I just had my Calculus 3(Multi-Variable Calculus) mid term back I possibly had the lowest score in my college years, which could possible bring my grade down to a C. Do you guys recommend me to retake this class next semester? (The old will still be on my transcript but the new grade will also reflected in GPA.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Retake the class for the sake of learning the material real well. Calculus in college in general is a joke and getting bad grade for it does not speak too well of your quantitative skills.
Do not worry about the old grade since there isn't a thing you can do about it.
As far as MFE application is concerned, you don't need a 4.0 to apply.
Going to Kent makes sense as far as living in Midwest but there are plenty other things you need to do well besides that Calculus 3.

 

[bigbadwolf]

So I am a Junior now at a Mid West college majoring in Econ and I am interested in Master in Financial Engineering. I dont have high profile like a 4.0 so I am aiming schools like Kent State. The problem is I just had my Calculus 3(Multi-Variable Calculus) mid term back I possibly had the lowest score in my college years, which could possible bring my grade down to a C. Do you guys recommend me to retake this class next semester? (The old will still be on my transcript but the new grade will also reflected in GPA.

Is there only one Calc 3 being offered? My own observation has been that paradoxically the more rigorous courses are actually easier to get a good grade on that the dumbed-down ones. In particular, the easy Calc 3 is more likely to be ill-taught, have a poor instructor, and have a poor assigned text.

 

[bayaba]

Thanks for you guys' reply. Going to a Mid West college is definitely what I want, I actually wanna study at a coastal private colleges like NYU, Columbia, and USC(Though my GPA makes it impossible). The reason why I bombed the exam is I actually had three mid terms on the same day. Obviously I chose to sacrifice Cal 3. I think I have no problem understanding the material. And I am planning take Theory of Probability, Theory of Single Variable Calculus( An easier version of Real Analysis/ Advance Calculus), and econometric next semester. Will retake Cal 3 hurt my application?

BTW, do most people enter the FE program with work experience?

Sigh my school offers little help to people wanna go to grad school

 

[Yuriy]

I would definitely retake Calc 3 in your case. But before you do that, I suggest you to put more effort in passing your current Calc 3 course. If you do well on the final you might still do well in the course.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Thanks for you guys' reply. Going to a Mid West college is definitely what I want, I actually wanna study at a coastal private colleges like NYU, Columbia, and USC(Though my GPA makes it impossible).

Not just your GPA; it's also the Mid-West college itself that makes it difficult to get admission to good East Coast (and West Coast) schools.

The reason why I bombed the exam is I actually had three mid terms on the same day. Obviously I chose to sacrifice Cal 3. I think I have no problem understanding the material. And I am planning take Theory of Probability, Theory of Single Variable Calculus( An easier version of Real Analysis/ Advance Calculus), and econometric next semester. Will retake Cal 3 hurt my application?

To be frank, with a relatively poor math background from a Mid-Western college, the odds are stacked against you to begin with. Your only saving grace will be 1) a stellar record in the math courses you do take, and 2) excellent GRE scores (i.e. 80th percentile or above). Take the hardest, toughest math courses you can and take as many as you can. Calc 3 is for the birds. And if your college doesn't have enough math courses, try transferring to a halfway-decent Mid-Western state university such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Ohio.