Hi everyone,
I recently wrapped up 2nd semester of junior year with an A or A+ in 6 honors/AP/dual enrollment classes, but got an A- in dual enrollment calculus. I also got an A- in the first semester of freshman year lit, but everything else has been an A or A+. How much of an impact will this have on my chances of admission? (I can list other factors of my application if needed).
Congratulations!
Please don’t be so obsessed with your grades, you are doing great!
I am just a parent of a rising hs senior, if my rising senior were so worried about the grades/chances for Harvard, I would have said my child is too stressed, and needs to get away from CC.
Enjoy your summer now! Work on your applications later.
Wow! Those are incredible grades. You’ve established a fantastic academic record. That verb, established, is in the PAST tense. You cannot do anything about it now. So forget about it. Focus only on what you can do going forward - which is picking the schools you want to apply to, getting your best standardized test scores, writing a great essay. You’re surely going to have some great options come March.
Lol, don’t fret about such things. I and many others have had A-'s on their transcript and that doesn’t stop us from Harvard or any other elite school. Granted, you have to have the test scores, ECs, and character to back up those grades. But don’t concern yourself with the very fine disparity between an A and an A-.
Spend you time instead building a list of colleges to apply to that includes a range of reaches, matches and likelies/safeties. Harvard is a tough admission for most.
Adcoms look at the transcript, see the courses and the slew of A grades. Assuming you have the right rigor, an A is an A is an A.
But, you’re a rising senior. It’s time to learn what holistic means and how it works at tippy tops. No one gets some magic tip just for having the stats. If you want to aim for a tippy top, learn what else matters. (It’s not just titles.) Get some perspective. And the best place is from what the colleges themselves say and show.
Your grades are considered in the context of your school. Two of my sons applied to and were accepted to Harvard with a couple of B+'s and a slew of A-'s (they were unhooked and not athletic recruits). This put them in the top 3%-4% of their class, which was sufficient to get them a serious read from the Admissions committee. What tipped them both in, however, were applications that included compelling non-academic accomplishments and extra-ordinary recommendations. Good grades will get you a serious read…but it is the noteworthy accomplishments, experiences, personal qualities, and recommendations that are essential in order to earn admission to any of the most selective colleges! Don’t worry any further about your outstanding grades…spend time thinking about how you have impacted your school or community in a meaningful way and how you might best communicate this to the Admissions committee.
Admission is not all about grades. Applicants need to meet a benchmark and after that it is about how you can contribute to an interesting mix of students in a class.
If you are worried enough about the difference between an A and A-, you may be stressing unnecessarily. And if your stress level is high, please talk to someone.
Chances of getting in are low for everyone. Please make sure there are many colleges that you would like to attend, with a range of selectivity, and make sure they are affordable too. Good luck!
Your grades will get your past the “yes, grades are good, let’s look at the rest of the application”. A couple of A-'s will not cause a problem with grades. The A’s and A+'s also will not help you in the other areas.
Grades are good, now focus on the many other parts of an application.