Can a Midyear Report break or make you?

Applying to College
1

<p>This has been asked quite a bit, but I was wondering for top schools, can a mid year report significantly help or significantly hurt you in terms of admissions?</p>

<p>What about deferred applicants to top schools: if i do worse first semester than what I normally do, will it significantly hurt me?</p>

<p>Or do colleges like Brown check these midyear reports to see if I am slacking or not?</p>

<p>I am a low A student. This year I am getting a ton of B's. Will that worsen my chances significantly for schools like Brown?</p>

<p>And this is a general GPA question:
Colleges say they like to see students challenge themselves so doesn't a good mix of A's and B's show that. I admit getting all A's is probably the best thing to do. But if you do get a mix, that doesn't necessarily mean you are a weak candidate or put you out of the running (considering you have the toughest schedule/workload), right?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>While I can’t answer your question specifically for Brown, a downward trend at this point in your HS career can’t help you for sure. You are being compared to the most competitive students in the application pool and those that continue to step up or improve will get a more favorable view. Now if you were doing something else that was taking your time and attention away from academics that was better showcasing your talent or showcasing your community leadership, perhaps that can help break even. Examples are a national level competition for music or science, or a community-wide food shelf drivet that you initiated that took all of December. Your best bet it to have great grades and all the other things Brown looks for in a strong applicant. Get your game on and sprint to the finish for a strong semester and a strong year to give yourself the best chance. You don’t want to look back and regret.</p>