This has been discussed repetitively but I am extremely confused on the whole, “B” in honors is an “A” in regular. Is it? What comes first with adcoms in term of priority? Also, should I try to get really prestigious internships in fields I hate, or lesser extracurriculars in something I enjoy? Thanks so much in advance!
@Armank1 , an “A” in honors or AP comes first :). DS did not have a 4.0 UW, but schools like Yale will want to know that you took a most rigorous courseload. Disclosure: DS is not great at foreign languages, so he did not take the absolutely most rigorous FL, but the GC was able to honestly report that he had a rigorous courseload.
Re internships in fields you hate: NO!!! Give us an example of the choices available to you. Fwiw, you might be surprised. DS interned at a Plasma Physics lab, because at the time he thought that’s what he wanted to do. He learned that working in a lab is not what he wants to do. He wrote software at the lab, and discovered that he enjoyed that. A very valuable internship, everything considered.
One of the benefits of internships is that they’re time bounded, which allows you to explore. But, that said, don’t go for the prestige if it’s a field you hate, but be open to the possibility that you don’t fully know yourself at your age.
Hi, I am interested in law/political internships however these are hard to get without connections. My father is in the software development world of wall street, and can help me work with people in the financial sector. However working with a congressman, judge, or at some sort of charity abroad is what I’m interested about. What is a DS? I’m presuming it’s one of your children? If I may ask where how your child (if I’m right) obtain these opportunities?
@Armank1, yes, DS stands for Dear Son. It might be informative how he got his Physics internship. The lab did not officially accept HS students, and I (to my shame) told him to forget it. Instead, he read the research papers of some of the principals at the lab, and wrote some emails that indicated his shared interest (and a surprising understanding of the research being done) and a transcript/resume. The lab director was swayed by DS’s resourcefulness and tenacity, and called to ask if I would permit him to intern there. I, of course, agreed. The first day he showed up, the lawyers were upset, because not only was he a HS student, but he wasn’t even 18 yet, and the lab was a somewhat dangerous place if you weren’t careful. His mother and I had to sign a bunch of documents, but in the end he had a great learning experience and was a listed author on published research.
What DS understood, better than his father, was to not accept No for an answer until you’ve exhausted every possible avenue.
Convince a judge who didn’t know he/she needed you to intern. Or a local charity. Or whatever. Good luck.
No. An “A” is an “A” is an “A” – and it doesn’t matter whether a student received the “A” in a regular, honors or AP class.
And, “A’s” are what Admissions looks for, or more precisely: College’s first compare you to your peers at your high school. If the top score in any class at your high school was a “B” then YOU’RE a top student with a “B.” However, if an applicant scored a “B” while his or her classmates received an "A’ in the same class, that will be noted by Admissions Directors – and it will not move your application forward.
However, rigor DOES matter. An “A” in an AP class is thought to be more highly looked upon, but a “B” in honors does not equal an “A” in regular class – that’s not how college admissions works. Your “B” in whatever class you received it in will be directly compared to other students at your school who received an “A” in the same class. This is done by looking at a high school’s profile, which depicts in words and graphs, what an “A” student or “BB” student at your high school looks like, and by noting the rigor and grades of your classmates that apply to the same college.
Still confused? I posted this before, but my daughter is a Yale and Princeton reject, and a Harvard admit. You would think that all tippy-top colleges look for the same qualities in a student, but that is not what happens in reality, which is why all students need to cast a wide-net. That said, notice there wasn’t one “B” on her transcript, yet she was rejected by 2 out of 3 top colleges: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1619966-ivy-standards-for-rigor-of-highschool-curriculum-p1.html
Hey gibby, wow! impressed by your daughter. I have friends and family at stuy and those grades are ridiculous. Thanks so much for your post!
Thanks so much!