I had all As fresh soph, but this year I ended up with a B- in Ap lang, and all As for the rest. I just got a bad teacher who rarely gives anyone As. However I took 3 Ap sophomore year and 4 ap + 3 classes w/ 5.0 weighted gpa this year. So my uw/w gpa by number is pretty good. But I was wondering if colleges look at letter grades, and would a single B- stand out. Also, since I am going to major in computer science or chem, would colleges care about my english grades? Thanks
Yes
Yes
Yes.
The question that should have been asked: “Will colleges throw my application in the trash with a B-?” And the answer is “No.”
Yes, English grades matter. When the time comes and you have test scores, check your school’s Naviance with your guidance counsellor to see which colleges would be reaches, matches, safeties, etc.
Not having a 4.0 u/w won’t ruin ur college app. Make sure to highlight ur strengths in STEM and a B in english won’t have much of an impact.
Mantra for the HS student:
Do not think 'Every point I get off of a homework or test is a point away from going to Harvard."
Think: “I need to do my best, and there will be a college that is right for me when I graduate.”
Do not think “If I don’t go to an Ivy League School/Top20, I am doomed forever.”
Think: “No matter where I go, I can bloom where I am planted. I can get involved and shine.”
Do not think: “My life is over…the kid in my math class is taking 20 APs and I am taking 5. I will never succeed.”
Think: “I need to challenge myself, but only to the point where I can still do well.”
I don’t see a problem here. You will get into very good universities with a single B- on your transcript. Math is important for CS. Sciences are important for chemistry. Foreign language is not very important for computer science.
Also, you can do very well in CS with a degree from a very good university (Rutgers, U.Mass Lowell, your in-state public university level), and you do not need to attend a really tippy top school (MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon level). In CS once you are six months into your first job no one cares where you got your degree, they care what you can do.
Every grade matters. But they matter as one of 25-35 grades over your HS career. Some a little more, some a little less, but none to the extent that one grade will eliminate you from consideration. Or even have a significant impact in isolation. (OK, may an F in Junior Year Math applying to MIT as a Math major…)
Harvard’s average admitted student unweighted GPA is 3.93 - that means multiple non-A’s for the average admitted student. To Harvard.
“Foreign language is not very important for computer science.”
I think AP Lang is the Language Arts (English) AP, not a foreign language, and so imo, a bit more important. It’s not a showstopper as others have said, and really only a concern if you’re applying to the most selective colleges.
“Make sure to highlight ur strengths in STEM and a B in english won’t have much of an impact.” Think again.
Main point: OP has not said what colleges or tier. At some, it won’t matter one whit. At more competitive, while it won’t stop your review dead in its tracks, the competition may offer more and better. Blanket assurances do no good.
I agree with ski. But for top holistic colleges, so much more than “strengths in STEM” matters. Great that OP took the class. Not so great the grade is blamed on a teacher. As said, adcoms will look at the transcript. OP needs to know how to make the best total presentationhe can, in the app. Not that everything is cake.