3 B's?

<p>I'm told that Stanford always makes exceptions - they're not like the Ivy's, which are really strict on GPA's and all that.</p>

<p>will 3 B's kill it? I mean, it's all from freshman year, but it'll affect my class ranking and overall GPA... but rumor has it, Stanford only looks at the sophomore grades and on. </p>

<p>That, and I'm hoping that if I show them I have a real passion for children through community service, projects abroad, etc etc. I'm trying to direct myself into a focused future, with a resume that will show them exactly what I like. I don't want to spread myself so thin, like many other applicants.</p>

<p>I'm just worried, is all...</p>

<p>Thank you in advance! :)</p>

<p>I’m not a Stanford student, grad, or have any connection to the school, but I have a story that I think can calm you down a bit. I friend of mine is insanely smart, but not a hard worker. He was always involved with the wrong sort of people, did a lot of stupid things, and by no means should he be at a top university. But you know what? He got his act together and is now at Harvard. Top schools are willing to make exceptions if they have a reason to, if you’re really a student who’s worthy of being a Stanford admit NOW, then they should overlook some blemishes from a few years ago. Hope it helps.</p>

<p>Thanks so much! >___<</p>

<p>I’m just seriously considering taking junior college classes next summer to get rid of these B’s. My counselor told me that if I did that, my college transcript would balance out my high school GPA. However, these B’s are from 3 different classes: Biology, Geometry, and Algebra I. The last one - it was from the 8th grade, but was included into my high school GPA because it was an advanced high school class. Which sucks, because I honestly didn’t know it would count back then.</p>

<p>I’ve just been worrying about whether or not it’s worth it to take 3 different college classes during the summer, or going abroad with my mom to volunteer with children (which I’m really passionate about). I could do it summer of SENIOR year, but I’d like to go two years, not one. I’m really on the fence about this.</p>

<p>If one of your Bs is from 8th grade, Stanford will probably not see that when they look at your classes and grades on your <em>high school</em> transcript, and it will therefore not contribute to their recalculated GPA they use to compare applicants.</p>

<p>In terms of what to do during the summer, doing things you’re passionate about is almost always better than doing something explicitly to look more impressive. So, I would recommend you do the volunteering. If, however, there is a way to volunteer AND take, say, one of the college classes, that would be an even better option.</p>

<p>And by the way, a couple Bs freshman year hardly make a difference, because it was a few years ago, and there’s been an upward trend since then. I would not worry about it too much.</p>

<p>My D is a rising sophomore at Stanford and I know her high school transcript had more than 3 B’s. She had 3 B+s in freshman year. I think she had 2 B’s in her sophomore year too, but they were in AP classes. Might have had a B in an AP class in her junior year too.
Don’t worry about those freshman Bs. Make sure you spend your out-of-class time on meaningful pursuits that show your passions. Good luck.</p>

<p>It’s true that freshman year grades matter somewhat less than subsequent years’ grades, especially if there’s an upward trend coupled with increasing course rigor. However, prospective applicants should keep in mind that most of the students in the bottom quartiles of gpa/test scores at top schools were hooked; that’s why they were accepted despite relatively low stats. So, the more you bring other specific characteristics to the table, the less a few Bs will hold you back.</p>

<p>I know one current Stanford student who had a few Bs sophomore year. However, he had some connections to Stanford (relative was a prof I think, and he did research over the summer and school year with him).</p>

<p>yeah I had 2.5 Bs freshman (out of 4 classes)
2 Bs sophomore year (5 classes)
1.5 Bs junior year (6 classes)
0 senior year (5 classes)</p>

<p>S*** happens. For me that was taking a language the first three years of HS and a history class the middle two years, and that ruined my GPA. Not to mention I was completely unprepared for high school level english.</p>

<p>But yeah I got in. </p>

<p>You really don’t have as much to worry about. Especially as you’re not framing yourself as an academic who only studies. </p>

<p>3 Bs junior year, on the other hand, is a problem.</p>

<p>Whoa, Senior0991. </p>

<p>If you don’t mind my asking, umm… What kind of EC’s and hooks did you have? SAT’s? AP scores? </p>

<p>That should seriously affect your class ranking too! </p>

<p>And how in the world do you get 2.5 or 1.5 B’s? It’s either a B or an A. o.0 How was that possible?</p>

<p>^ maybe it was a B in 1 semester?</p>

<p>yeah 1 B in one semester counts as .5. For me my grades would commonly fluctuate semester to semester, especially in history and spanish. Btw I count B+ and B- as a B, which actually makes a pretty big difference because in both sophomore and junior years I only had two semesters of B (each year), with the rest B+ and higher. </p>

<p>Anyways my dad went to Stanford (haha that explains everything, right?) except I was competitive enough to get into a few other top 15 schools as well. The schools I applied to that appeared to me as the most grade-centric (Princeton and MIT) were my two rejections. </p>

<p>Perfect or near perfect scores on every standardized test I’d ever taken probably had a lot to do with it, as did my HS (very competitive and not grade-inflated), as well as my devotion to three ECs: golf, science olympiad, and tutoring/coaching. </p>

<p>Um yeah my class rank and stuff took a hit, but my school only reports by decile anyway. I knew GPAs of my friends and stuff, and even though I was getting better grades than them the later two years of high school they had the freshman-sophomore padding, which I didn’t. But I tried not to let that get to me.</p>

<p>Oh my goodness. </p>

<p>I have a few of cousins who went to Stanford (does that make me a legacy?) and I ALSO do Science Olympiad and Tennis and a lot of volunteering with children. O.O</p>

<p>The only difference is that I excel in the humanities, and my B’s were mostly in math. </p>

<p>Otherwise, if I kept up straight A’s from now on, you and I would have very similar transcripts. Strangely, I feel a LOT better. LOL. Thank you. :)</p>

<p>Just so you know, PMHopeful, your cousins don’t confer legacy status, so you aren’t in the same position as Senior0991 was. (His father is a Stanford grad, which does confer legacy status.) I’m not trying to make you PM-Unhopeful, just putting this fact out there, and encouraging you to get those straight A’s from now on. : )</p>

<p>I think the more important thing at hand is to make PM-hopeful more considerate about his ECs rather than his grades. While grades are important, 3 Bs are nothing to cry over JEEESH, especially since one of them you received in middle school which takes no part in your HS gpa. You need to get on top of your game about who you are, and what interests you. I’m sure that Stanford doesn’t want students that worry about officially 2 measly Bs. You need to get over this syndrome as your college experience want get you all As throughout. I’m sorry for all the ranting, but you are in a good position, and for the time being just focus on your essays, and other things that describe you.</p>

<p>Yeah, I had 3 B’sfreshmen year (or 1.5) 3 sophomore year, and none junior year. And I’m applying lol</p>

<p>LOL. I’m a female. I love how everyone on CC assumes that I’m male. Awesome.</p>

<p>It’s not just the grades, I could care less if only I were a different ethnicity… I’m Asian, come from a $200K+ income family, but I’m the first generation to attend college (my parents immigrated here).</p>

<p>And it’s not as if I don’t have passions. I have a lot of experience taking care of children since childhood, as many of our culture did. My parents have dedicated their whole lives to their children, and I’ve spent a lot of time helping to take care of my cousins, grandkids, nieces, nephews, whatever. I’m also set to go abroad with my mom to volunteer in Vietnam for the next two summers. I volunteer weekly at a children’s hospital. I’m currently rounding up members for my World Vision club at my new high school (I’m still a sophomore), which will sponsor children from third world countries. </p>

<p>I’m hoping to show Stanford a definite pattern in my actions. I’m trying not to spread myself too thin right now, and when I apply, I don’t want to submit a long chain of clubs I never really took part in, even if I were in a leadership position. My EC’s should back up my essays - they should give solidity to what I can only express in mere words: my passion and love for children.</p>

<p>^You seem different than the typical S reject. I’d say you have a better shot at S than P or M (granted you’re apparently a lady, so you have a semi-hook at M). I know kids with pretty blemished GPAs who got into H, but rumor is that you have to have lots of leadership potential/initiative to get into H.</p>

<p>Aha, thank you. :)</p>

<p>“I’d say you have a better shot at S than P or M (granted you’re apparently a lady, so you have a semi-hook at M)”</p>

<p>I have no idea what any of those abbreviations mean. I’m sorry - I’m a n00b. D: And how would being a “lady” be a “semi-hook”?</p>

<p>Oh, interesting. I thought PMHopeful meant that you were hoping to get into P, M, or H (Princeton, MIT, Harvard respectively). </p>

<p>On CC, if you see HYPSM it stands for Harvard Yale Princeton Stanford MIT, the upper tier of US universities. If you see a C added on there it’s either Caltech or UofC (Caltech I think is more used).</p>

<p>You’re kinda a noob, but I’m a CC loser for automatically assuming PMH stood for those schools. </p>

<p>Being a lady is a semi-hook if a school wants to get a 50/50 male female ratio (which MIT does), yet male applicants are generally stronger if not greater in number as well. At Caltech otoh, the admissions staff doesn’t seem to give advantages based on race or gender, hence it ends up being a university filled predominantly with white and asian males. </p>

<p>Just like boys generally have it easier for musicals (generally similar number of roles yet way less competition).</p>