How bad is a C during senior year going to look on my transcript?

[Kayla M]

Hello, So I'm currently taking a linear algebra course which is mostly doing proofs, which I absolutely suck at. I will be applying to one or two graduate schools for an Applied Statistics Masters degree which is a professional degree and different from a masters of science in statistics that focuses on proofs a bit more. Linear algebra proofs don't really have much to do with statistics, but it is a higher level math course and it is my senior year so I worry it will look bad to get a C during the fall semester and be applying to graduate schools in the spring. Please advise because I can take the course in the spring and will probably get a C, but it won't matter because they make decisions in March. It will just kind of screw up my class schedule in the spring because there's a lot of interesting classes I want to take, but it's not a huge deal. 
Thanks in advance.

[MathCat]

I'll preface this by saying I'm not in statistics. Getting a C in an upper division math course could definitely hurt you. Given that it's linear algebra, it's an even bigger deal: I know linear algebra is very important for (most, anyway) statistics programs. If you got a C in abstract algebra, it would probably not hurt you anywhere near as much as a C in linear algebra. I know you say it's because of proofs and you won't be doing proofs in the masters program, but I'm not sure how much that would matter to an adcomm. You would somehow have to explain that it's just the proofs part giving you difficulty, and I think this would just come off as a weak excuse at best. So I would recommend taking it in the spring if you are certain you will not do very well.