<p>I always thought minuses and pluses didn't matter because in my school, a C is the same as a C+, and A- is the same as an A, etc. (weighting wise). But in some other schools, the -/+ does make the grade weighted differently. Do I have no shot at any top college if I have 3 B-'s, 1 B, and 1 B+ (I've always just thought of these all as B's though). What about A-'s vs. A's? </p>
<p>It depends what you call “top colleges”. But what the CollegeConfidential COmmunity calls “top colleges” typically don’t want B’s, whether B, B+, or B-. What’s your GPA?
College typically “unweight” your GPA and recalculate (they eliminate health, PE, etc. and count how many Honors and how many Aps you have).</p>
<p>I am not talking about HYPSM or top 10 colleges, none of which I am applying to. Mainly I want to know about colleges from 11-25. My unweighted GPA is a 3.87 with 12 weighted classes.</p>
<p>That GPA is adequate for most colleges.</p>
<p>Colleges ranked 11-25 would be reaches, as they are for most people.
Do you have colleges that admit more than 30% students (match) and more than 40% students (safeties)?
For all these, that’s assuming you have commensurate test scores and EC’s.</p>
<p>This whole thing with students being convinced that they are doomed if they have B’s on their transcripts–Where is that coming from? CC? Their GCs? Parents? There are students with B’s all over their transcripts sitting in classrooms at top schools across this country. How does this myth continue to perpetuate? Yes, top colleges prefer top grades, and you need to be able to put lower-than-average GPA’s into context. But WHEN did a 3.87 unweighted with 12 weighted classes become a “bad” GPA? LOL. Sorry. I’ll jump down off my soapbox, now. </p>
<p>OP, I know multiple students at Top 10 universities right now with Bs sprinkling their transcripts and GPAs similar to yours. DS got accepted to top schools with almost 30 B’s of various types on his transcript. Yes, he had a learning disability. But, 26-28 (can’t remember exactly) is A LOT of B’s, regardless. His GPA was 2 points below yours. AND he won lots of major scholarships that heavily weight your academic achievement into the decision (including Coca Cola).</p>
<p>It’s NOT about the Bs! 
It’s about the context. Were they in area’s where you struggle academically? Was there something going on outside of school at that time that made studying difficult? Were you pursuing other interests that took a lot of time but were beneficial to you or your community? If it was just a matter of not putting in the work you needed to in order to make As, fine. That’s the GPA story. But, what’s the rest of your story? A strong application that shows colleges who you are apart from your GPA can make the GPA a non-issue. I wouldn’t spend another moment thinking about those five B’s. That’s silly, IMO. Focus on building a complete picture of yourself for colleges. But, to answer your question, no, a 3.87 GPA will not keep you out of top schools. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hopefully you’re right @happykidsmom hahah. Thanks for the help! I’m just worried because people on CC act as if A-'s are even bad… in my school, people only try to get A-'s because A’s are obviously even harder. And they’re weighted the same so… </p>
<p>I know my GPA (the number) won’t keep me out of top colleges. But for some reason, people on CC tend to just have more A-'s or something if they have my GPA, not B’s (since their A-'s are weighted less than A’s). </p>
<p>@MYOS1634 I have good enough scores/EC’s (I think, haha). This is the only thing I’m worried about. I have safeties as well.</p>