How bad does a "B" deface your transcripts?

<p>Now, I know there's nothing wrong <em>per-se</em> about B's. But I got a B my Freshman Year, which is kind of pathetic. For the past 3 quarters, I've gotten A's or A+'s in every subject except Geometry Honors in third quarter, when I received an 80. It wasn't as though I wasn't expecting it, I had checked my grade and it was a 75, and I actually spent half of my vacation, at school, with my teacher, to raise it. So I received an 80. </p>

<p>If I were to pull of a high 90 this quarter, along with the two 92's I received first and second quarter, and the 100 I received on the Geometry Midterm, the 80 won't be "too" detrimental, right?</p>

<p>Now. I might sound really stupid when I ask this but -- do Colleges look at your final grades or all four quarters? For instance College ABC sees that you received an A, A, B, A, Final=A in Geometry, or do they just see an A in Geometry?</p>

<p>Depends on how your transcript looks.
On mine, colleges will see all 4 quarters and the final grade</p>

<p>If you are thinking that a B ā€œdefacesā€ your transcript, youā€™re thinking too hard about it. I would imagine most colleges look at the entire transcript. So what? Nothing you can do about a B in freshman year NOW. It will have whatever impact itā€™s going to have (which will likely be minimal at most schools). Itā€™s not as if you can go back and change the grade. All you can do NOW is strive to do well.</p>

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<p>I got a bunch of Bs and a couple Cs freshman and sophomore year; I did just fine. One B will have a negligible effect.</p>

<p>I know Iā€™m probably overreacting, but I havenā€™t shot my chances at BU, NYU, and UCLA in the face, right?</p>

<p>My son had around 8 Bs over 4 years. He was accepted at UCLA, Berkeley and some other top schools. Donā€™t stress.</p>

<p>My brother had 4 Bs and got into Yale and Dartmouth. This was probably aided by the fact that all his Bs were in the same sort of subjects, two of them were in the hardest class at school, and he got redeeming scores in the subject area.</p>

<p>I got into Brown and doing well here getting a total of I think 11 Bs (4 freshmen year, 0 sophomore year, 2 junior year, and 5 senior year (LOL)). I made them up being very good at other things and showing my advanced math things. Granted, I would take at least 8 classes at a time and went to a school where my grades still put me in the top 20/~350. Still, you should be fine.</p>

<p>[YouTube</a> - Asian Dad: B+ Again!? (you die)](<a href=ā€œAsian Dad: B+ Again!? (you die) - YouTubeā€>Asian Dad: B+ Again!? (you die) - YouTube)</p>

<p>Do colleges look at your whole transcript?
I transfered in the middle of the semester from China. And I only spent 2 weeks of their 2nd marking period.I had to make up for a lot of the work they did in the whole school year in 2 months. I got a B-in PE (that was the only grade I got for the 2 weeks I spent before the marking period was over) and a B+in French (the person who takes me to school everyday did not pay his ticket and his car was locked,I was therefore late and did not receive a homework grade.)
How would this affect me? Iā€™m mad at myself it seems really stupid now to transfer in the middle of a semester.</p>

<p>My school only has semester grades on transcripts. No quarters, no finals, just FINAL GRADES (the way it should be). Iā€™ve gotten 10 Bā€™s and Iā€™m a junior, so whatever. English every semester, German 3 semesters, AP Us 1 sem., and World history 1 sem. Iā€™m probably going to get a B in AP US and English again this Semester, but next year I should be able to pull all Aā€™s. Bā€™s arenā€™t that big of a deal. Remember, an A is EXCELLENCE, B is ABOVE AVERAGE, and C is AVERAGE. Bā€™s are respectable.</p>

<p>Will one B and one C that I can chalk up to insomnia, diarrhea, and a bad teacher kill my chances of getting into schools such as Brown, Tulane, Penn, or Emory? (B in Spanish 2- I was hospitalized for it and missed a unit test, midterm, and quiz, then I had to make them all up the day I came back. C in Math 2- I have insomnia and this is the time period where my lack of sleep really hits meā€¦ Plus the teacher is terrible, every single student of hers failed the state-administered midterm, imcluding myselfā€¦ At least I had a high F, a 68.) Thanks in advance! Ohh, by the way, this wonā€™t become a trend, Iā€™m going to work on that insomnia problem over the summerā€¦ I think I could probably get it under control, with luck, timing, and pills which unlike Benadryll to aid sleeping, wonā€™t cause me to lose my hearing later in life, as I was informed it would.</p>

<p>You should be fine if you can explain your B and C. Just make sure you keep working hard and keep getting Aā€™s.</p>

<p>[YouTube</a> - Indian Parents](<a href=ā€œIndian Parents - YouTubeā€>Indian Parents - YouTube)</p>

<p>Donā€™t worry too much about Bā€™s, especially if itā€™s in freshman year. GPA and SATs are no longer the major factors in college appsā€¦ GPA is not as important as your essay and recommendations; colleges also look at your experiences: volunteering, jobs, extracurriculars. Of course, try to maintain Aā€™s from now on, but I doubt that one B in 3rd quarter (btw, I think my transcript only shows semester grades) will completely ruin your chances of getting into a ā€˜goodā€™ college.</p>

<p>I know someone, currently a college freshmen, who was very ā€œsmartā€, focused a lot on academics, took a LOT of APs and maintained straight Aā€™s throughout high school; but she had very few non-academic experiences (a little volunteering here and there, no summer programs, few extracurriculars) and was rejected from many schools, including Berkeley and UCLAā€¦ Colleges like diversity. Good grades are nice, but they want a wide variety of students at their school.</p>

<p>To archaic: You are correct in that essays, recommendation letters, extracurriculars, and more are important. However, the transcript is still the most important factor in college admissions and test scores are also pretty important - you cannot blow them off completely, but they do not signal doom if you get one B.</p>

<p>@preamble1776,
It depends on your school. In my high school, prep schools (and eventually colleges) only see your grades in term 2 and term 4. Iā€™d ask your guidance counselor about it.</p>

<p>If youā€™re interesting and accomplished in all other senses, I wouldnā€™t worry about it. Iā€™m the first person in my schoolā€™s history (allegedly) to have gotten into an Ivy without a 4.0 UW. Why? Because I was doing things on a bigger scale than high school.</p>

<p>I know that Stanford does not look at freshman grades, donā€™t know about other schools :/</p>