Consequences of a B

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1

<p>I always heard that MIT likes to see its applicants take challenging course loads. Heres mine:</p>

<p>AP English
AP Chemistry
AP Physics C
AP Economics
AP Calculus BC
Spanish 4
Band
Gym</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure this is a challening course load (Junior Year). I've gotten A's in all of the classes, but it looks like that for the year I will get a B/B+ for English. For MIT is this bad? I'm afraid that it pokes a whole in my entire application. At the same time, I tell myself thats silly and that its not a big deal. </p>

<p>So I ask you guys, is the B/B+ not a big deal, considering the heavy course load?</p>

2

<p>I got 4 B's in english/history and i got in.</p>

3

<p>Wow. Sick.</p>

4

<p>You are DOOMED!</p>

<p>Haha, jking :P</p>

<p>I had a C freshman year of high school and got in. Of course the trend was definitely up from there... ;)</p>

<p>With that course load, you have nothing to worry about.</p>

5

<p>Truly. MIT is highly competitive, and these boards are filled with tales of people with perfect SAT scores who got rejected, but I can assure you that the appearance of a B is not a reason for MIT to reject anyone.</p>

<p>Indeed, it can be a useful experience. I can just about guarantee that if you get to MIT, there may well be a few B's on a resulting MIT transcript.</p>

6

<p>I never had a straight A semester - I got B's in English every single term and got in, so don't worry about it.</p>

7

<p>Same, senior year was the first time I got straight-As for the semester.. too late to be considered for an early action acceptance.</p>

8

<p>yeah dude, no sweat there..i got in early with a B in AP English. That was, however, my only B. You should be fine when it comes to that..just keep working your butt off.</p>

9

<p>"Perfection is not required."
- MIT admissions rep at an info night</p>

10

<p>A B proves you're human. Go out and get a life!</p>

11

<p>conversely, a perfect transcript doesn't guarantee admission.</p>

12

<p>I got an A+ in AP English. I was waitlisted. The point is that a single grade will not decide your fate unless this single grade was a D or an F.</p>

13

<p>Even a D can sometimes be explained. If the transcript is very strong over 4 years with a single D, then that is not necessarily a killer. Keep in mind that strong academics is a necessary but not sufficient criterion for admission. The purpose of the academics test is to answer the question "Can this student do the work at MIT if admitted?" And that's it. Barring extremes at the top and bottom, its a binary question. Really, really, really don't sweat about a B.</p>

14

<p>Dude, your course load is extremely rigorous, and the fact that you're getting As in the math/science classes says a lot of good things about your aptitude for those subjects. As a math/science institute, I'm sure MIT will take more positives than that than they will from some humanities course.</p>