Bs Dificult courseload?

Applying to College
1

Freshman year through Sophomore year I had all A’s.

I took Calc BC, AP World, AP Bio, and AP stat Sophomore year

Junior year I’m taking:
Multivariable Calc, AP Physics C mech, AP physics c e&m, AP US/Gov, AP Comparative Gov, Honors Lit, and Health.

My school is known for super rigorous classes. Most people score 4’s and 5’s on the APUSH exam and almost everyone scored 5s on the Mech/E&M exams last year.

This year i struggled so much (Classes this year has been so much harder than last year’s BC Calc, AP World, AP Stat, AP Bio) and first semester I’m getting Bs in AP Physics, APUSH, and AP CompGov. And A’s in Multivariable Calc, honors lit, and health.

3Bs in one semester. Not only is 3 Bs in one semester really bad, but this also means I have downwards trend of grades.

How much will this hurt my admission chances at top-tier schools? I plan on applying to Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore (I want to go to a LAC), Davidson, and really competitive schools like Gtown, Duke, Vanderbilt, WashU, etc. (I’m not looking at HYPSM)

I already have solid SAT score 1550, which I’m planning on retaking soon for near 1600 score.

I am SO disappointed with this semester. I just feel like I destroyed my chance at good schools and all my hard work from freshman/sophomore year is basically worthless now since I’m showing a downwards trend of grades. I also feel like I should’ve made my courseload alot easier, but I wanted to get the “Most rigorous courseload” checked off by my GC and the only way to do that was to take this courseload, since this kind of courseload is what all the top students in my school are doing.

I feel like I completely failed to balance rigor vs grades.

One note: My class rank should still be within 10%.

2

My school has a system of adding 10 points to all APs btw. So on my transcript I technically have all A’s…

3

TL;DR
I took a pretty rigorous courseload (AP Physics C, APUSH/GOV, AP CompGov), ended up getting 3Bs. Still have 4.0 on transcript due to school weighting system
Strong SAT, bad 1st semester Junior grades from rigorous courseload : how much does this hurt?

4

Drop AP comp gov for next semester if it’s a year long class at your school. Take an art class if those are easy and creative at your school, or take whatever strikes your fancy (culinary arts? Choir? Shop? Current events?)
Colleges want to see a total of 6-8 AP 's, with A’s, rather than a couple B’s. However those B’s aren’t the end of everything. You’re not supposed to be perfect to get into college - and your imperfections make you interesting. :slight_smile:

5

Course rigor is important and you have that. Plus, you are only a sophomore. Listen to MYOS and try to relax. Colleges don’t need to see you take every single AP. They want to see great grades in the tough courses you take, that is true. But they don’t want to see you being an academic drone. You already have more APs than most students do, so I suggest you take courses you are interested in, in which you can do well and maintain high grades. As are more important than overdosing on AP classes.

Again, heed the advice of @MYOS1634 , he knows what he is talking about.

6

Why in the world would you want to be seen as a test taking drone? That 1550 will not keep you out of any school.

7

Agree with above. There is zero need to retake a 1550. Don’t waste your time.

8

Piling on : do not retake a 1550.
Prépare for a variety of subject tests but most importantly focus on one or two activities outside if school and engage in something non competitive (it can be over real and vacations if you have two activities at a high level.)

9

Perhaps, then, you are gaining an understanding of how you stack up compared to the top students at your HS.

What reason is there to believe that with a different choice in classes you could have appeared as a better student to adcoms? They wouldn’t notice that you haven’t taken the same classes as other applicants from your fine HS? They wouldn’t bother looking at what checkbox for difficulty your counselor chose?

You are taking a tough courseload and are undoubtedly a strong student. But strong enough to get into elite colleges? Dunno. It sounds like you go to the type of school that has experience sending kids to elite schools. Time, IMHO, to sit down with your counselor and go over where you stand and what might be an appropriate mix of reach and match colleges to apply next year given the ability you actually demonstrate, not the list of colleges you dream about attending.

10

It seems like your only motivation is to look good on paper. Shooting for a perfect 1600, getting the “most rigorous” box checked, having straight As? Take a breather. Take classes you enjoy along with a couple APs, but don’t wear yourself out trying to be some perfect student on paper. Colleges like to see students with character. Think about that