<p>How are Ivy League schools and other top schools going to view an A+ vs. an A-? (My school's transcripts make the differentiation.)</p>
<p>I might end with an A- this semester... in Student Council of all things... But all my other classes (AP's included) ended at A+'s.</p>
<p>My Student Council grade is partially determined by participation points, but I was absent multiple days this semester. Despite the absences being excused, my student council advisors have taken off participation points and are unwavering in their decision to do so. While I've been able to pull off an A+ for the past two-and-a-half-years, I won't be able to get there this semester and may in fact end with an A-.</p>
<p>Is this A- going to be a problem, especially considering it is STUDENT COUNCIL of all things? My mom's frustrated with me... I'm frustrated with myself... And I'm feeling kind of down in the dumps with my mom mad at me and with teachers frustrated at my absences (albeit excused)...</p>
<p>Sit down, have a nice cold drink (a fortified one for your mom). Everything is fine. Get the 4.0+ mentality out of your head. In no way will an A-, particularly in a soft class like SC, make any difference in college decisions.</p>
<p>You all need to chill, or you’re never going to get through this process with an ounce of sanity.</p>
<p>I assume A+ is seen the same as an A and an A- is seen as slightly worse. Obviously, one A- is not going to make a big difference though. The claim that it makes absolutely no difference is probably not true though but the difference is extremely small.</p>
<p>First of all, it’s not an academic subject.</p>
<p>Second, is an A- still worth the same grade points as an A, ie. 4.0? At our school +'s and -"s all count the same as the regular letter grade for gpa/class rank purposes.</p>
<p>LOL your mom really needs to get slapped if she’s mad at you for getting a freaking A- in a soft class. You also need to chill out if you’re actually frustrated over an A-</p>
<p>@yoamogatos:
An A- factors in at a 4.0 as well.</p>
<p>@all:
Yeah, yeah… I know it doesn’t seem like a huge deal… I (and my mom, haha…) are just worried about the unpredictability of top admissions, and I’m worried about “slipping-up” somewhere.</p>
<p>You have all A+s in your other classes. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. </p>
<p>To put things into perspective, I only got 2 As (90 and 91… A-s) in my entire high school career and I still turned out okay in the admissions process. Stats aren’t everything and if you get rejected somewhere next year, it won’t be because of an A- in student council.</p>
<p>My school doesn’t even have A+ or A-, everything is just A, B, C. One A- shouldn’t be a problem; if a college looked at a transcript and said, “Oh, this person has an A-, he/she can’t come here!” I would question the admissions process and the college itself.</p>
<p>I’m going to go against the general consensus here and say speak to the department head to get it fixed. First of all, you should never lose points/credit from an excused absence. I don’t know what defines an excused absence at your school, but at most it refers to a doctors note, field trip, etc. Second, if you have all A+ this could be the one grade holding you back from valedictorian. If you received similar grades in freshman/sophomore year as you have junior (all a+) you don’t want an unfair student council grade to bump down your class rank.</p>
<p>But, your mom definitely should cool down (as should you). One A is fine, and even though CC may make you think otherwise, unhooked kids do get into HYP with a b or two.</p>