I’m currently a senior in high school this year applying as an engineering major for college. I was just wondering how one B during 1st Semester Senior Year would look to colleges. I have heard from many people that one or two B’s during senior year won’t make too much of a difference, but would it raise red flags to the colleges if that one was in AP Physics C and you were applying for engineering? I currently have a 4.0, and I am taking 5 AP classes + 1 Honor this year.
I apologize if I’m coming off as paranoid, but this was just something that has been on my mind. Thank you for your help!
General rule is they want to see you take the most rigorous course you can achieve an A or B in. The fact that you took AP Physics and got a B puts you ahead of the kid that stopped with honors Physics.
Unfortunately, a B in AP Physics C if you’re applying in engineering won’t be good. If at all possible, try to raise it to an A-. I know people are trying to be reassuring, and it is true that getting one or two B’s in your senior year may not get you rejected, but it could, especially as a prospective engineering major. The fact is, there will be many other applicants with straight A’s. That’s just the way things are these days—it’s very unfortunate and doesn’t show anything about how well you’d actually do in college. I agree, though, that you’re better off with a B in AP Physics C than an A in some lesser physics course—that shows that you understand what’s expected of you and you’re trying to do it.
I disagree with Planner. You’re, otherwise, a 4.0 student. Engineering colleges will be super excited that you’re applying and will bend over backwards to admit you.
You don’t need straight A’s. Even for Harvard or HarveyMudd.
Yes, if you have more then 2-3 B’s, that’s a problem. But a couple B’s? You’re fine.
Top colleges want you to take the most challenging curriculum you can handle while still getting a B or higher, AND they don’t like the “everything but the kitchen sink” approach to AP but would rather have you take a tought-out approach to your curriculum, especially senior year (or, as Stanford puts it, “its not a game of who has the most APs, wins.”) In the same vein, it’s not a game of who has the most A’s wins.
The top colleges want to know whether you’re extraordinary. Having straight A’s or being valedictorian doesn’t make you extraordinary. It merely indicates you can handle the work, but so can the kid who has 2 B’s. So, if you have curriculum rigor and can handle the work, plus your test scores are within range, then they move to intangibles, as per essays, recommendations, and activities.
In general, it’s better to have all A’s, especially in fields related to the one you’re proposing majoring in, and especially in particularly competitive fields. Perfect grades and high scores aren’t enough, and slightly less than perfect grades/scores with truly remarkable extracurriculars/personal qualities would be preferable to perfect grades/scores with typical extracurriculars/personal qualities, but relatively few applicants have that (and, frankly, it’s a lot to expect of them). That’s why if students can get all A’s, especially in fields they’re planning to go into, and especially in their junior and senior years, they’re much better off.
No—A-'s are different. I know it doesn’t make sense—there’s very little difference, say, between an 89 (B+) and a 91 or 92 (A-). But assuming the transcript only reports letter grades, not numbers, an A- “looks better” than a B+. Admissions officers are people, and people are often not as rational as they should be.
Planner, please stop.
While of course an A is better than a B, having one or two B’s/B+s over 4 years of high school thus presumably 24+ classes with a rigorous curriculum (especially with a course such as Physics C) WILL NOT make a difference, let alone B+/A-.
This reasoning is why we have kids each Spring complain “Why did he get in with a 3.87 and I didn’t with a 3.96?”
This student has a 4.0. One B in one semester of Physics S isn’t going to make a difference. S/he may not get into colleges with a 20% and less aceptance rate, but it won’t be because of that lone B. Anything 20% and less is to be treated like a lottery.
Stop this! You are going into engineering. You will get B’s, you will fail tests, and you will learn.
I am also worrying over a B+ in my class, but it is not the biggest deal. The fact that you are doing that well in an advanced course shows that you have initiative. Try to raise the score, but that score is still great.
Let’s say, in my case, that I get a 3.5 in my course. That will look ok, nothing great.
But I am taking Multivariable Calculus, which is quite rigorous. Will a university want to see a B in a Calc 3 class, or an A in a practical math or Stats class. Of course they want to see the B in Calc 3.
If you have a B+ in AP physics (whatever), that will look better than an A in regular physics. Think about that perspective.
