Hey guys, I am currently a freshman in HIghschool and have gotten a b in my Honors Principals Of Engineering class in the second and Fourth marking periods and, a B on both my midterm and final ( the midterm/final average counts as a 5th marking period). Will this significantly affect my chances of getting into a nice college like UPENN or get a large scholarship from another school? I am currently taking 5 honors classes, 1 online health and fitness course, and 3 regular classes (French 1 cred, intro to computer science .5 cred and digital design .5 cred). Next year I am taking 4 Ap’s. please help me u guys, I am really stressing out because I am Asian and this might bring down my chance of admission.
Also, this engineering class is a second-year course, and I was put in it by accident. I should have been in honors principals of engineering this year.
You are fine. I had a few b and was able to make it to a few t20.
Engineering is an elective usually and not a core subject so it won’t weigh as much. Also, if you continue to improve your grades and engage in substantive and meaningful EC’s, your B’s during freshman year won’t sting so much. So move past your B’s during freshman year and focus on improving from this point on.
Also, expand your horizon beyond the Ivy League schools. UPenn is much more than a “nice” school. It is extraordinarily selective - so selective that even valedictorians are regularly rejected. So explore a variety of colleges and aim for realistic matches, a few safeties, and a few reaches. UPenn would be a distant reach for 99.9% of applicants that aren’t recruited athletes or otherwise hooked. Being Asian is a negative hook at UPenn and other Ivies. There are so many high quality colleges available across the USA, so don’t fixate on the elite brands such as UPenn, Harvard, Stanford, etc.
I swim varsity, do coding club, and participated in math league and olympiad
It’s a reach for everyone. So, the B is ok, because
Any school that admits 25% or less is a reach for everyone.
Obviously if all your grades turn to B it will be a problem but you can afford a B a year.
Also, if you need a merit scholarship keep in mind Penn doesn’t award any. So, run the NPC, then talk with your parents to see if the result of the NPC is something they can afford to pay.
Having a school you really like and hope for is good, but the hard work of making a college list is finding safeties and matches you like and can afford. It means your state flagships, colleges in the Midwest where you’d be URM, LACs where as a boy you have a boost. He a Fiske guide and start reading. Go visit a few colleges bar where you live - it doesn’t matter if they’re not colleges you’re interested in, since it’s to get an idea of the ‘feel’ . For instance, if you live near Philly, don’t go visit Penn, visit Temple, Haverford, Swarthmore, St Joe’s, La Salle, Penn State Abingdon, West Chester U.