Hi. I’m a freshman right now and I’m afraid that I’ll have one (or maybe even two) A- (A minuses) this year. I really want to be accepted into an Ivy later on, but would this affect anything? I know I’m stressing a bit before the real game, but I am really curious.
Thank you!
you should be a little worried, freshman year is usually the easiest year, most people that get into Ivys and have an academically bad freshman year have something tragic or negative happen to them. so u better have nearly died or they will throw your application in the fire of Mordor before you can even say sohcahtoa
You can’t survive 4 years of high school and stay emotionally healthy if you stress over getting one, maybe even 2, A-- grades as a freshman.
Of course your grades are important. But your EDUCATION is more important. So is your emotional health.
Do the best you can do. And make friends. And discover what subjects you love and why. And meet other like minded kids-- and other kids who see the world in an entirely different way than you do. Go to football games and basketball games and cheer until you’re hoarse.Work up the guts to speak to someone you haven’t yet gotten to know. Join activities that sound interesting, whether or not the crowd of other kids here on CC tell you they’ll look good on a college application in 3 years.
Grow into the best YOU you can become. And don’t sweat the college applications quite yet.
A- is fine. You be you. Do the best you can, and do what you love with passion. The rest will play out as it is meant to.
As others have said, you are going to make yourself crazy if you obsess over an A-. The truth is that you can get a 4.0 GPA and still be rejected from every IVY. It happens all the time. In fact, even with straight A’s the chances of getting into an IVY are incredibly low. Ask yourself why an Ivy is so important to you? There are hundreds of excellent colleges all across the country where you will be warmly welcomed even with a few A- on your record.
Yes, A-s are fine, especially during your freshman year. Try to keep above a 3.8 UW GPA, which should place you in the top 10% of your class, but this depends on your school. If you want to be very competitive in terms of stats, be in the top 5% of your class. Don’t get Bs, but A-s are fine
@doorrealthe spot on friend!
Thank you! But also, this class is known to be THE HARDEST class offered at our school. I know a lot of other smart juniors/seniors, but none of them ended with an A. All the seniors say that even AP Calc BC is more bearable.