Does maintaining an average grade in a higher level course count as an upward trend?

Applying to College
1

Hi everyone,

So last year I got a B- in French 3.
This year I took IB French and maintained a B-
Will Colleges see this as an upward trend?
Will this look bad for elite schools?

Thanks

2

Admissions officers will note that you challenged yourself in the higher level class but maintaining a B- is not an improving/upward trend.

When the time comes to apply to colleges you will need to honestly asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be excited to attend. You need to expand your horizons beyond “elite schools” and recognize that there are many wonderful colleges and universities out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.

3

A B- will not look good to any elite school regardless.

4

How did you do in your other classes?

The most elite schools don’t have a lot of students coming in with mostly B’s. The most elite schools see a lot of applicants with many A’s, and only a few or in some cases no B’s at all. There are plenty of universities which are a good match for students with a lot of B’s, and there have been from time to time threads on CC specifically talking about appropriate schools for B students.

However, a small number of B’s shouldn’t be a problem. Thus how you do in a long list of other courses is going to matter. It is not clear to me that your grades in one class is enough to see or not see an uptrend. Also, if you are doing very well in other classes being able to pull off a B in your most difficult class is a good sign.

To me, having the same grades in more rigorous classes does count as a slight uptrend. One of my daughters actually did pretty much exactly that, starting with about a 94 average in CP classes, then maintaining the same average in honors classes, then maintaining the same average in AP classes. She did fine with university admissions.