Bs in highschool and their effect on college admissions

I gotten a lot of B’s in high school and now i am goin to be applying to college next year. I got 3 B’s in freshman year in regular classes and 4 bs in 4 honors classes sophomore year. I got all As junior year and let’s assume that i will work my butt off and get As for my mid year report. I took 9 ap classes and 5 honors. How much will this hurt my admission at a school like tufts or jhu.

I really can’t answer your question, but admissions at many schools would notice your upward trend and that will certainly help.

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They are highly selective schools. You could have perfect grades and still get denied.

Do your best. Be yourself. Show who you really are.

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You named a number of reach schools…you will need a balance list including at least one affordable safety you would be happy to attend.

Many schools with recalculate your GPA, so it’s helpful to know your unweighted GPA, in core courses only (Eng, SS, Sci, FL, Math), on a 4 point scale, where A+/A/A- =4, B+/B/B- = 3 and so on.

Have you taken an SAT or ACT?

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Like everyone u need a balanced list. Reach. Target. Safety

Those two schools are reaches for everyone. That includes the straight A student with rigor and a super high test score…plus great ECs etc.

The likelihood of getting in is small, even if you had straight As. But you can put forth the most positive, contributory image of yourself and hope for the best. That goes the same for your target schools.

Many each year over estimate their chances. There are near perfect students getting rejected at schools like Florida, UMASS, and Maryland.

And compelling, impactful students are admitted with less.

The important thing is you find the type of school that’s right for you. Then you find not just Tufts but those that are similar but easier.

You have to spend four years somewhere, day after day. So you need to know what you want from size, weather, type of are…city or not. Greek. Sports. Etc. u may like a school but not the major for the curriculum you want.

No one can truly answer you but yes those schools are unlikely. But you’ll have to show them why you are right. You are much more than grades btw…that’s just part. You are a test score, extra curricular, LORs, and essays. You are even more but that’s one way to show who you are. Depending on the school, you may also be judged on the ability to pay or on the amount of interest you demonstrated.

And if you end up at Tufts or Tulsa, Hopkins or Hofstra, it will be you and not the school that makes your success.

First discussion honestly is with your parents. Get a sense of what they can afford or more importantly what they want to afford.

Let’s say your family is wealthy but your parents say you have only $50k a year, then you can eliminate schools now….like Tufts. If your family can’t afford, then you need to look differently because you may qualify for need based aid.

Rather than loving a school now, it’s best to understand the budget and then type of school you seek.

In the meantime, your record is your record. Control what you can. There’s lots of smart kids going to a lot of big names and not so big names. And there’s a spot for you…somewhere. Just be the best you that you can be

Hope that helps.

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yes i took the sat 2 weeks ago and got a 1560

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thank u

i was thinking about applying ed at tufts but i feel like it might be a waste i understand for tufts my gpa being a 3.75 uw is a little on low side. Is there any college that u think would have a higher chance at accepting me with a 3.75 and 1560 sat as an ed applicant?

We know kids at our suburban Chicago high school with Bs on their transcripts who got in JHU and Tufts and schools like Bowdoin, Vanderbilt, Cornell, lots of others. Some of those kids had three or four Bs but did have the most rigorous schedule - all honors and AP classes and most of them very advanced in math with multivariable as seniors. These are 2019 kids and they also had high SATs, 5s on APs and some were NMF. A few Bs does not disqualify a candidate from top schools.

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That is excellent and will certainly help.

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I think it depend on the school and the timing of the B’s. Also if you get a B in a notoriously difficult subject like AP Physics C that might not hurt. But these days any reason to put a candidate in the no pile is reality.
Maybe things will be different next year. This year, it seems like they were just trying to get through the piles.
Your SAT score will be helpful if they reinstate SAT/ACT scores.

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Here is my suggestion. As you start building your college list…start from the bottom and move up. By this, I mean find a couple of colleges where you have a very very high chance if acceptance, that are affordable, and that you like.

Then choose schools where you could get accepted but it’s not certain…pick a few of those.

Then lastly add the schools that are more competitive for you in terms of grades (your SAT score is terrific so that likely won’t be a factor). Pick a few of those.

In other words, pick a variety if colleges with a range of selectivity…not all elite schools.

Make sure you discuss costs with your family. You want to be sure you have affordable options.

There are many colleges where your 3.75 GPA and your 1560 SAT will garner you both acceptance plus merit aid money (University of Alabama, University of New Mexico, Arizona State, for example).

What other criteria do you want in a college…things like potential majors, geographic location, college size, etc.

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I think you should read @thumper note above mine. You are a Junior and you have fixated on a school. Why that school ? Have you been ? Have you walked the campus, seen the neighborhood, eaten in the dining hall ?

Have you spoken to your parents about budget. This is first and foremost. If they don’t want to spend $340k, and you are full pay, you cannot ED anywhere.

You are moving way way way too fast.

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