i got 2 Bs in 8th grade for math and spanish (which show on my transcript), a B+ in 9th grade math, and a B for 10th grade math, PE, and health class. I also got a lot of A-s in my 9th and 10th grade year. BUT I got straight As and A+s in 11th grade w/ all honors/APs, a 12th courseload of all APs, great standardized testing scores, good extracurriculars, and a good personal narrative. I go to a competitive public HS with good college placements for context and I plan on applying as a journalism/public policy/history major (so very little math). So my question is⊠how bad will these Bs hurt my application?
I donât know if 8th grade will hurt you, but the ones after that? yeah, they might. you are competing with kids in your school, and if enough of them are applying to the same top 20âs and donât have those Bâs?
now certainly really strong ECâs and personal narratives could outweigh that, so itâs not like you wonât have a prayer of getting in. But I wouldnât be overconfident. these are reaches- find your targets and safeties.
The question in many ways doesnât matter. Apply to the schools you want but have a balanced list of reach, target, and safeties.
They wonât help - but it will depend when, the courses, the next course (if you got a B in one class but an A in the next, they might say he got over it).
Control what you can - you canât control the past.
If you donât apply - you wonât get in - that I know.
Good luck.
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Bâs and A- âs arenât great in high school courses, especially if other kids in your high school are applying with higher grades in similar courses. Iâm not concerned about the 8th grade grades. Just be sure you have realistic schools on your list.
The 8th grade ones do not matter.
The others: it depends. In some schools, Bs and A- are very common in the top 10% of the class, even an occasional B+ in the top few kids(but I only know of private schools that fit this description), in other schools all A/A+ is for the vast majority of the entire top 1/3 of the class. You need to ask what your relative estimated rank is(even if your school does not officially rank, they will be able to tell you a ballpark). The colleges have ways of figuring out roughly where you stand compared to classmates and that is where it can matter if you are applying to selective schools.
With a bunch of A-/Bâs, it will likely be difficult to get best student type letters of recommendation.
Not necessarily - hopefully theyâll be writing about the student - their strengths, compassion, effort, characteristics,etc⊠The grades are obvious from a transcript.
Not every kid at a top school is straight As and from reading the chain I sort of get that whatâs people are telling OP.
So if you are in a very competitive HS there are the âusual suspectsâ- the couple of dozen schools that the high achievers target. In that environment it can feel like a âfailureâ to not get into one of those big names.
A friend came from a family of Princeton people, unto the generations! But it became clear that none of her 4 kids were going to Princeton. What helped that family make the transition from âthis is the only right answerâ to âwhat a great choice for Kid Xâ was coming to realize that there is more than one right answer.
Look at your areas of interest: journalism/public policy/history. Then look at the top journalism schools- most of them are outside the usual âtop 20â lists- but are the leaders for your area of interest. Do your own Venn diagram of schools that rank really well for journalism and public policy- you will find lots of great choices for you. The kids from the family I mentioned above all landed in T50 schools- but each of them was ranked in the top tier for the subject the kid was applying to study. And - not unrelated bonus- all of them love their colleges.
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@x_y donât sweat it, itâs not coming down to your 10th grade PE grade. Itâs also important that you continue the trend and finish up strong. Thereâs not another you with the same profile as you, itâs the complete package that matters. What schools are you considering applying to?
I would recommend you look at what colleges students from your high school attend with similar grades. Does your school allow access to that information? Grades differ so much from school to school and your grades and course rigor will be judged within the context of your individual school.
My school doesnât officially rank but I go to a top public HS in NY (not NYC). Judging by Naviance and what I hear from students, it seems like colleges give students from HS more âleewayâ? I know many B/B+ students who got into pretty selective colleges through Early Decision (like NYU, Wesleyan, etc), but I also know many better students than me who only got into their safeties. Not sure if they had any hooks. But college admissions get so much more selective each year so my cycle will probably be held to higher standards. I think itâs probably because students from my HS GENERALLY tend to do very well in college, are usually full-pay, or have legacy.
My safeties are Binghamton and Stonybrook (GC is confident iâll get in). Reaches are NYU, UMich, Barnard, etc
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Just keep that upward trend going for this semester, and based on what your school has done in the past, you could get into a reach!
Oh I missed you are applying journalism / public policy / history.
I assume your list starts with Syracuse and Indiana.
It could/should end there too. SU tops for journalismâŠok one of tops and the Maxwell School is arguably tops in the country for Public Affairs/Policy.
Top 20 you donât need âŠ
No Bs is great. All Bs would be quite challenging.
Any number between them is an immeasurable continuum, akin to Sorites Paradox.
IMHO, the only answer is âsomeâ.
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Did I miss your unweighted and weighted GPA?
First, why T20? Whose list is that and does it really matter? Hereâs another list to consider, not USNWR:
As to the question about Bs, Iâll tell you about my son. He was a solid A/B student, 3.6 UW GPA. Everything else on his application was awesome, but truly I didnât think a 3.6 would be competitive. But he applied to his dream school, UChicago, and âeverything elseâ got him in. He had no hooks. Two other kids at his high school who applied to UChicago that year did not get in. One was the #2 ranked kid in the class and the other was in the top 10. My sonâs situation was unique but I think it illustrates that you just never know who will be reading your application and what they will find compelling. (Side note - I suspect Bs in math will have limited impact considering your intended major, especially taking into account your junior year record.)
All that being said, please donât fixate on rankings. The vast majority of âT20 caliberâ students donât end up at T20s.
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You can get some Bs and get into Top 20 schools. Look at any of their CDS information. Not everyone is getting a 4.0 GPA. But the number to the school is only a number. Focus more on what type of school/environment you will do well in. Your still getting great jobs at top 30, 40, 50 schools and beyond. Donât get sucked up in the hype. Listen to the above advice also.
Sorites Paradox⊠Very nicely done @RichInPitt 