Hello,
My dream school is the University of Pennsylvania, for Economics or Political Science.
I am a sophomore, in second semester, who will most likely be receiving his 5th B of high school. Thus far, my 4 Bs have been in Honors Math courses (last year it was Hon Geometry, this year, Honors Algebra 2) both semesters. Also, I had an additional B in a Spanish course, one semester of freshman year. This year, I am taking 2 APs, and next year I will take 3, along with 2 weighted (according to the UC system) Honors courses, in addition sto self studying AP Macro/Micro and possibly Calculus.
However, I am confident, due to the reputations of the teachers of the courses and also the hard work I will be putting in, that I can achieve a 4.0 next year, both semesters. Also, I am a solid standardized test taker (1500 on one Practice Test, usually around that range or a bit lower, but this is BEFORE my prep class) who is attending one of the best SAT Prep programs in my area, and I have very solid leadership/extracurriculars.
Also, I will be taking courses in my local community college in Economics to help me truly enhance my knowledge of the major I will be applying for.
My school does not send many to ivys, and is in the Bay Area (more rigorous competition 
)
If I apply Early Deicison, despite 5 Bs, do I still have any chance at UPenn?
Thank You
Dont stress, pretty sure its only the FINAL grade in each course on your transcript that counts toward your gpa- ie semester/quarter grades dont appear and Penn will only see your final grade in each class. That said do the best you can and then apply… you miss 100% of the shots you dont take… best of luck!
@steelerfanatic5 Too early to worry about it. Do your best next year, and then think about where your HS record can take you. One troubling thing about your post is that you seem to imply that your B’s were at least partially the fault of others, not yourself. Writing: “…I am confident, due to the reputations of the teachers of the courses and also the hard work I will be putting in, that I can achieve a 4.0 next year,” makes it seem as if you lay the responsibility for your B’s on previous teachers with less stellar reputations. If you don’t get that 4.0 will it be because the teachers didn’t live up to their reputations? You also write you expect to do well on the SAT because of your practice test scores and because you will be “attending one of the best SAT Prep programs in my area,” You seem to be willing to pin your success and failure on the reputations of others. I hope I don’t sound like I’m being to tough here, but if you want to improve, you need to take full responsibility on your own, and not lay it off on others.
Closing thread for the above reason.