I ended my sophomore year with all A’s and A+'s except for one AP course in which I received a B. However, I received a 5 on the AP test and a 770 on the SAT subject test. Would this hurt my chances at an ivy league school?
Do you believe that Ivy league schools only accept 4.0s?
@T26E4 Well unless the applicant has some sort of hook, it seems like Ivies only want 4.0s. To expand on my question: Do you think that Ivies would rather have a student with all high A’s and a single B, or a student with low to high A’s, but all within the A-range? (The GPA ends up being the same in both cases.)
you’re asking the wrong question – they want top performers. Some have all As, some don’t. The entirety of one’s application forms a picture. Academic excellence is a requirement. The actual GPA isn’t something to be hung up upon as long as it’s excellent.
You’re asking as if there’s a marked difference between the two. I posit that colleges are fully aware that there’s not a diff btn your two hypothetical students.
I didn’t have a “hook” nor a 4.0 and was accepted by multiple Ivies (well – back in the day – but the schools still had the lowest admit rates even then)
@T26E4 Alright, thanks. So this would mean that having a B on the transcript wouldn’t significantly impact my chances at an Ivy League if the rest of my application is alright?
@Piarater99 Yeah, no, it doesn’t. A B is not a bad grade. Stop thinking it is; you’ll only set yourself up for disappointment when you inevitably get a B (or worse) in college.
OP just relax. A “B”" is not the end of the world. If Ivy league schools only admitted 4.0 students then there would be no reason for a holistic review, and every student with a 3.9 need not apply. Ridiculous. Admissions is about your total body of work over your high school career. Passion, interests, essays, rigor, and yes, good grades all play a role.
Calling a “B” a “bad grade” is both off-putting and disingenuous. You will do yourself no favors if this mindset comes across in either your essays or your interview.
To answer your question, if you are rejected, it is exceedingly doubtful that it will be due to receiving one “B.” On the flip side, plenty of 4.0/2400 applicants get rejected every year and plenty of people with slightly lower stats get accepts. GPA is just one part of the entire application packet.
One B in the sophomore year should not matter to any school! For Ivies the quality of your ECs significantly outweighes that single B (though you better not get more of that)!