<p>My freshman year in Florida I was an excellent English student, highly regarded, and received numerous accolades. However, come sophomore year in NJ I was stuck with the teacher from HELL who destroyed my GPA with a B. I had never gotten a B before her class. It is the only class I will ever get a B in. The bad news is that I will probably have her for the rest of my High School education, which inherently means straight B’s in English until graduation. </p>
<p>I have decided to counteract my English problems by skipping a year of math and going straight from Algebra II to AP Calculus BC. I will be more than prepared for the class, because I have started studying in March, but the class doesn’t start 'till September.</p>
<p>My problem is many Seniors have told me that AP Calc BC will ruin my GPA. I know it is a risk, but I just feel like it is a “do or die” situation. If I don’t do it my academics look a little lackluster(even though it is most rigorous), but if I do it, it could possibly get me over the hump at Wharton.</p>
<p>a B?!? You better quit looking at Ivies and start looking towards community colleges. A B will put you right in the trash bin at the admission office.</p>
<p>Actually getting a B in English doesn't matter at all. You also don't need the highest sat scores in the world to get in. You need to do something that will make you stand out from the rest and show how much you NEED to go to college. They can tell the difference between someone looking for a name and someone looking for an education. Your grades are just there as proof that you can handle it.</p>
<p>A B won't kill your chances for college, as colleges tend to look at trends. If the general trend of your transcript is As, then one B certainly won't hurt you. However, good grades alone aren't enough to get you into a school like U Penn-- you'll need good test scores, class rank, and ECs as well.</p>
<p>A B or three won't hurt your chances at all. It's ridiculous to think that colleges expect only 4.0s.</p>
<p>And you should be fine with BC Calc. I know it differs from school to school, but I'm the class right now and I'm doing fine even though I'm not really a math person. You may want to consider taking pre-calc though. There's no need to push yourself too hard just to make up for your "English problems".</p>