I’m a sophomore in a very competitive public high school on the East Coast. In my freshman year I got 2 Bs–Biology and Geometry (both honors). This year my main concerns are Pre Calc hns and APUSH. I’m almost 100% sure I’ll get Bs in these 2 classes. The thing is, in my school district, pre calc and APUSH are intended for juniors (very few sophomores are able to take AP classes because of prerequisites). I’m afraid my 4 Bs in 9th and 10th grade will greatly hurt my chances to get to a good college (not Ivy, but still.)
My GPA for freshman year is a 3.7 (UW)
If I get all As in junior and senior year, how much will that increase my GPA?
Which leads to my question: is it better to get an A in a less demanding class than a B in a demanding one?
For GPA take your 3.7 for freshman year, a 3.7 for sophomore year. 4.0 for junior, and 4.0 for senior and add them all together and divide by 4. That would equal 3.85, and that’s including senior.
In weighted GPA, a high grade in an easier class will equal a slightly lower grade in a harder class. Colleges want to see you challanging yourself, but you still want to maintain a high UW GPA, so it’s a careful balance.
That only works if the poster is taking the same number of classes each year.
It’s better to get an A in a demanding class. Other than that, it really depends. Getting a B in AP Physics C vs and A in Marine Biology is a bit better than getting a B in AP Calc BC vs an A in AP Calc AB, IMO.
“If I get all As in junior and senior year, how much will that increase my GPA?” Hmm, you’re in precalculus and you can’t figure this out yourself?
You took geometry last year and now you are in precalculus? Did you skip over algebra2/trig? That may be a problem. Why were you one of the few sophomores placed in precalculus when you only got a B in geometry? Something seems wrong here.
Since you already have the B’s, why are you asking if it would be better to get A’s in less demanding classes? Are you considering switching classes midyear? You may get better answers if you explain yourself better.
Other than that, it really depends. Getting a B in AP Physics C vs and A in Marine Biology is a bit better than getting a B in AP Calc BC vs an A in AP Calc AB, IMO.