Re-posting as i accidently deleted original post…My daughter has excellent grades upto Junior year and other stats/extracurriculars. Senior year 1st quarter grades she has 2 B’s - the subjects are graded harshly (teacher said it would be at the start of the year). She will eventually get her final grade to an A but for now, the quarter grades will be sent to Brown. She is applying for ED. Wondering whether we should withdraw the application to Brown as I have heard she will surely be rejected or deferred because of the B’s.
Why would you withdraw? Your d (like thousands of other ED applicants) should be focused on her other applications AND on her school work. Worrying about an application that’s already been sent is a waste of time and mental energy!
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Thanks! Looking to change an EA application to ED where they do not require 1st quarter grades.
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ED is for the absolutely top choice, would go there above all other options. If your D’s top choice is Brown, why would you switch the application somewhere else this late in the process?
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If her EA is now her 1st choice and affordable AND they will let you change to ED then go for it . You will also need to notify Brown. If you post the name of the EA school, that may be helpful too for input. Please know it is about the entire application - we don’t know enough about your child to say if two B’s are an issue or not. ED is about your first choice and if her mind has changed with or without the new grades to the EA school that would be the real reason to make the switch - in my opinion.
I agree with the above…change the app if the EA school is now the first choice. But, trying to avoid any school seeing two Bs seems extreme (I agree we can’t know how two Bs might impact the app, but many students accepted to Brown each year have Bs on their transcripts).
Also, how do you know the potential new ED school doesn’t require Q1 grades? Lots of ED schools aren’t on the counselor Q1 grades required list, yet many AOs still call/email GCs to get the grades for ED applicants.
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Thanks everyone for your responses. She is in the top 5% of her public high school and has stellar grades and ECs. We have a counselor and she told us that the 2 B’s will hurt her chances for sure at Brown and now we should start looking at ED2 schools. I know that Brown is a reach for everyone but the 2 B’s this quarter have pushed the chances further down. The EA school does not require 1st quarter grades so she will be ok (it is a reach as well). I had emailed the AO at the EA school and he got back saying they do not look at 1st quarter grades.
What happens if her final grade isn’t an A (it can happen) and the school where she’s committed and put down a deposit asks to see her final transcript?
Seems like a lot of complicated gaming going on here. The Brown application is in, presumably she’s got a list of colleges she’s happy with (some of whom won’t care about the B’s, a few maybe yes, maybe no…) so why not leave it alone and put the attention somewhere else? Maybe she gets B’s first semester which turn into C’s for the end of the year- at some point an adcom is going to see her transcript!
Are you sure 1st quarter grades are needed? The text below is from the Brown application portal:
The First Term Grades/Senior Progress report listed on your Application Checklist has a flexible deadline, as we realize that high schools have different calendars and schedules. There is no need to worry or contact us about this requirement; just ask your guidance counselor to send these grades by email to [documents@brown.edu] if and when they become available.
Yes! This is on their website and I also called the school - Early Decision applicants are required to have their counselor submit first quarter or trimester grades as soon as they are available. All applicants should have their school submit midyear or second trimester grades as soon as they are available, with a deadline of February 22…
I assume this is based on what official grades your school can provide… Some schools only do semester grades, which would not be available till mid-January post the ED decision…
Here are my thoughts:
-If she did not have the Bs, would she be questioning her choice to ED Brown?
-If the answer is no, then keep the application in:
IF the rest of the App makes her a likely admit when the AOs assess it, then they will either ignore the Bs and admit, OR they will defer because of the grades. But if she was a likely admit without the grades and then gets them up, she will be a likely admit in regular. IIRC, Brown defer-admit rate is the same or slightly higher than the Regular admit rate.
IF the rest of the App made her an unlikely admit, they still may defer her, but it is less likely she gets in Regular, even if she gets the grades up.
There is no accurate way to know which category she falls into, so IMO it is best to let it be and see what happens, reassess if she wants to ED2 somewhere else after the decision.
Thank you! That is a very good way to approach it.
Yes. In a way it is not a fair evaluation for ED as some schools have 4 marking periods while some are trimester or semester based! It is what is is though…
Brown requires a progress report even if grades are only official at the end of the semester.
has a flexible deadline. I think it is okay to wait and send.
If Brown is the #1 choice, keep it ED (if you can afford it, I promise it’s an amazing school with great and caring professors and TAs!!). My son had 3 B’s freshman year, 3 B’s sophomore year and is stuck eating Brown dorm Thanksgiving food his first year from home as we speak.
If the rest of her app is solid, worst case they defer her. Then at the mid year mark, you send in that semester report card with the A’s.
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Your son must have had some pretty stellar ECs 
He did have strong ECs and a loaded AP schedule his junior and senior years (only allowed 2 sophomore year) but I would say among the top 5% kids, he was kinda average. You hate to say that about your kid, but that’s just the reality of so many of the great kids who apply. Everyone is kinda the same and then there are a handful who really stand out and is differentiated. That wasn’t my son. No research, didn’t find a cure for anything, and didn’t start a non-profit. I think his very odd and quirky personality came through in the essays and after being allowed to read a couple of his teacher’s LORs, I know their advocacy of him really helped.
My hope is that kids/parents who read this know that you can be so amazing and get rejected (so many of my son’s friends were top 10 in the class. He wasn’t). It’s not a reflection of their ability to succeed at the school. But for the kids who are “average” stellar kids, they can have a place at a school like Brown if they can demonstrate that they are a good fit for that community for that particular year and for that particular cohort that Brown set out to shape. Brown could be looking for a much different profile this year for the incoming class and who knows if the same app my son submitted would’ve been admitted this year.
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This is amazing. I know of so many kids who applied to Brown. 4.0 UW high school GPAs, 1500+ SATs. Amazing ECs and essays. None of these kids were even waitlisted. All straight rejections.
What do you think did the trick for your son with 6 Bs? 1600 SAT? Recruited Athlete? Legacy? National/International recognition for an EC? Incredible essay?