American here studying abroad in Africa, in my senior year in the IB DP program, and I’m close to sending in my applications for US universities. The problem is, there is a huge disparity in my grades. I’m taking 4 HL’s (History, Eng. A L&L, Portuguese B, Economics) and Physics and Math SL for Standard Level. I have FOUR 7’s from all my HL’s predicted, but a 5 in Maths SL and an annoying 4 in Physics. Given that all my other factors of admission seem good enough (Minority student, 32 ACT, Really good letters of rec from alumni, can pay for almost all of a standard 50,000 per year tuition, massive volunteer experience in Africa with lots of other extracurriculars, etc.), how much will these mediocre SL grades affect my chances of admission to a top 20 Uni (2 Ivy League, rest are just behind)?
Note: I don’t want to study anything to do with Physics or Math-related at uni, so would that help as well?
Don’t these scores come out the summer after senior year, long after your applications and acceptances are already complete? So, too late to have an impact?
How long have you been predicted a 5 in Math SL and a 4 in Physics SL? Were you doing better before or has it been like this since the beginning of junior year?
I’m not going to lie, both of those grades will hurt - according to my school’s scale, they would be equivalent to a B in Math and a C in Physics (I also go to an IB school in Africa). So the longer you’ve had those predicteds, the more unlikely your chances of admission. Your ACT is also low for Top 20 schools - bumping it up to a 33 (or 34+ ideally) would increase your chance of admissions as well. Finally, the majority of Top 20 schools are need-blind, which means that they don’t take into account your ability to pay for school in their admissions decisions.
I’m not saying that you have no chances at these schools - your URM status, letters of rec, and ECs will be a plus. Just remember that it is your GPA (in this case predicteds) and ACT score that get you in the door, and your soft factors (letters of rec, ECs, other hooks) that will secure you a place at a Top 20 school.