<p>Guidance counselors and admission officers at selective colleges always stress the importance of having "strong" and "competitive" grades. GPAs aside (different schools weight differently, etc.) what is considered a good transcript? All As? A healthy mix of As and Bs? </p>
<p>I'm also wondering how much +/- grades count. I am going to end up with a lot of A-/B+ grades this year (though I admittedly go to a private school with a harsh grading scale). </p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>If your school has a harsh grading scale, and sends any reasonably large number of applicants to highly desirable colleges, that situation will be clear to the college admission office. Will your counselor sign off on a statement that you are among the top students in your class?</p>
<p>tokenadult is right in that your school’s reputation might make the difference for you. Many schools shovel out A’s by the ton, so admissions officers may look for consistently strong grades, but a few B’s probably won’t make or break you unless your school is known for rigor (either for having high rigor or low rigor). </p>
<p>And a note from a recent college applicant: don’t sweat the admissions process, there are no clear-cut right or wrong things to do. Just be yourself and let your best qualities shine.</p>
<p>That is perfect, man. While you should always aim for straight As, especially in this competative time, it is accptable to get an OCCASIONAL B, especailly if you are in a rigorous school. It will not make or break your chances… :D</p>
<p>I’m getting mostly B+'s this year (w/ 2 A-…1-2 B-…wait…does this mean I’m screwed? I thinking of applying to UPenn(ED) or something along those lines…eek…</p>
<p>oh, and they’re all APs and honors…</p>
<p>While grades won’t make or break your application in themselves, a relatively bad transcript won’t be doing you any favors. </p>
<p>For U Penn… You want to be as close to all A’s as possible. And at “minimum” over 3.8 unweighted. Sure… you can get in with a 3.8 or less, but statistically speaking, many more people are rejected at that range than those closer to 4.0’s. Anyone significantly lower than that is just a special case exception.</p>
<p>Then again, I’m speaking from a public school POV. Private school may be different, especially if yours is well known nationally.</p>