Hey guys,
I’m going to be a senior next year, but over the summer I decided to take calculus I (no room
for calculus AB in my schedule next year). Unfortunately, I’m not the best at math and that combined with the condensed nature of the course leaves me with a cumulative grade that will likely fall within the B/B+ range.
In retrospect trying to finish a year long course in 5 weeks wasn’t
the greatest idea; however, it is too late to go back as the money has already been spent. . .
My questions are:
- To what degree will this affect my college applications?
- Should I re-take the course and aim for a better grade?
For reference: I’m not going into the math field, I’m probably going to go into political sciences or some other humanities concentration.
The colleges I’m looking at include: Cornell, Wellesley, Williams, SUNY Geneseo, Dartmouth and Brown. (Yes, I’m aware this list is mostly comprised of reach schools. . .I’m still in the process of creating a full list of colleges to apply to)
If more info. is needed feel free to p.m. me or something. 
Get the notion that a B is a bad grade out of your head; it is a great grade, especially in a college course.This should not affect your chances. Definitely do NOT retake; you should never ever retake a course that you passed unless you need a higher grade for it to count for your major (some schools require C or better in major coursework), which is not the case with a B.
You think you’re bad at math, took a college level Calc course and got a B, and you want to possibly retake it? Take your gift and move on.
Given you don’t plan to go into math or economics, I agree that a B is not a bad grade. But that is a “in general” reply. I’d be more concerned if you took the course at a college that was known not to be rigorous-where you’d expect the rigor to be far below the schools you’d like to attend. So if the B was at a typical community college, I’d be more concerned. If it was taken at Carnegie Mellon, less of a problem. Yes, calculus may be the similar where ever you take it but expectations for grading differ, difficulty level of problems differ, pace differs. So fair or not, a B at a community college may cause concern-unless you had other college classes with A’s.
I disagree with lostaccount. A B in a calculus college course, REGARDLESS where taken is great. I know some professors who teach at my local community college in addition to a UC, same curriculum and same books. Considering the curve and competitiveness of calc courses, a B is pretty great.
As I noted, the issue isn’t the textbook or the content. If the class is graded on a curve, then the configuration of the class becomes critical -since the curve forces a certain percent of a class to get an A even if their class test scores are low and indicative of a low level of mastery. So if you are in a class filled with strong students like those at Williams or Cornell, a B is probably fine. If the other students are from community college, the B may mean that you did ok compared to poor students but it does not necessarily indicate a high level of mastery. If you are aiming for top schools, this is a realistic appraisal.
If your grade is from a community college, it would be good to have good Math 2 SAT scores to offset the B and demonstrate strong academic skills. Alternatively, take Calc 2 and get an A in it. I know plenty of high school sophomores and juniors who got A’s when they took Calculus 2 and Calculus 3 at local universities in the summer because their HS school ended at AP Calc AB but they were aiming for STEM careers. That isn’t to say that a B is necessarily bad but there is a big “depends” in there. Those students who got As in Calc at local universities will also be applying to Williams, Cornell, Dartmouth and Brown. It isn’t the be all and end all-it’s just one data point- but it is part of the record and the one grade you have from an actual college (as opposed to an AP). If from a comparable university to those you are aiming for-I would not worry about it. If from a community college, I’d do something to offset it.