<p>I am currently taking AP bio this year as a freshman. My grade for the second semester will probably be a B+. The highest grade for the whole class of 20 some kids will be a B+ or a low A- (our scale is 90-100=A 80-89 =B etc). How will colleges know that this class had a lower average grade than say some grade inflating school?</p>
<p>YOU ARE SKEWED!!!!
i had teh same dilemma, my advice, transfer schools, Colleges will penalize you, they don't care much about you compare to others at your school, all they care is your number is low!!!
i had 3rd highest in bio, but only 80%, everything else was alright (not stellar) got rejected by all schools!
i was stupid, b/c i call Colleges and told them my situation, here is similar conversation i had with 5 admission commisioners</p>
<p>ruthless admin=ra
ra: "okay sir, so your problem is there is grade deflation? is that correct?"
me: "yes, i have tried my best and i have gotten top 3 grades"
ra: "well, I am sorry sir, there are many students we review every year, as much as we would like to help you, it would be unfair that we lower the standard for you. and if we were to lower it for everyone in your case, we would never finish reviewing the applications. I regret to tell you that there is nothing we can do to help."
me "ummmmmmmmmm... i c your point... ... .. . .. . .."
ra "sir, the only solution i have for you is to transfer to another school that doesn't have grade inflations and continue to strive for good grades. I wish you the best of luck, i would really like to help you, but unfortunately, there is nothing i can do. I am sure you'll find a more fitting school. Good luck"</p>
<p>that's how it ended, i didn't listen and in the end, got ranked top 5 in 340 and rejected from all schools, i bet it was b/c of my grades!!!! i took the most rigorous courses too!
so... switch school!</p>
<p>You got rejected from all your schools only because of a low grade in bio? I doubt that is the case. People do get into top colleges with some B's. It must have been some other part of your application. Did you have good ec's/leadership positions/community service? And what exactly were the colleges that rejected you?</p>
<p>bost88 is right, i kind of exaggerated, i must admit, my essay wasn't the good. and my stats were nothing stellar. But i think Bio was my biggest downfall, b/c i have over 95% in Bio the previous year, and then i dropped 15% (switched teacher, my old teacher went back to India).</p>
<p>considering that adcoms have to read thousands of app. I doubt that they'll consider every factor of you, including the in/deflation of your school unless its a well known magnet/private school. </p>
<p>is it only bio thats causing this problem? if your school is competitive overall, low gpa won't matter; thats why ranks exist. A friend of mine had a 3.7 and yet he was still the top 10% of his school year.</p>
<p>nah, they won't give you any slack, but hopefully test scores will compensate</p>
<p>dang it omg what do i do.</p>
<p>You've posted something like this before, have you not?...Wow. I see why people hate freshmen.....I also see why my school doesn't allow freshmen (or sophomores for that matter) to take AP classes.</p>
<p>A B+ in AP Bio with the highest grade being an A- is NOT grade deflation nor is it going to kill your gpa nor is it going to hurt your chances of getting into a good school. If overall you have what it takes to go to an Ivy League or a top 25 school, then it really won't matter. You're human, colleges recognize that. No, they don't have time to consider whether your grades are deflated or inflated, but they DO have time to consider you as fully as they possibly can.
not to mention, there are tactics to counteract a lower grade -they're called weighted gpas and rankings. Not to mention, some schools (eg Princeton) don't even look at 9th grade scores..</p>
<p>Believe me, I've been through this same type of thing every year for some class or another; What I did was work hard to get a grade I was satisfied with. It doesn't always work so you need to learn that you're not just a number (however cliche that may sound). It's taken me years to understand that....</p>
<p>Relax! Life does not revolve around getting into college! (it shouldn't anyway)</p>
<p>The reason why you get a weighted GPA is the compensation for a course such as Bio AP. Trust me, you're not the only one in the shoes of the highest grade being an "A-."</p>
<p>I agree with LadyinRed. In such a hard class as AP Bio, I wouldn't say that a B+ was grade deflation. In our school's Bio honors class, probably the smartest kid hardly pulled off an A-, so I don't think a B+ is such a big deal.</p>
<p>thanks for ur help guys. i was so scared.</p>