I have a 3.95 unweighted GPA, am taking a very rigorous courseload, and have amazing business EC’s, but the Calc BC class at my school is brutal. I am extremely confident that I will get a 5 on the test but am afraid of my grade slipping down to a B+. Would this be a big deal when applying to a place as math-oriented as Wharton?
I also got a 770 on Math II and a 780 on Math for my SAT.
Whether you get accepted or rejected from Wharton or a similarly competitive college will not be because you got a B+ in Calculus.
@skieurope If other people also applying ED to Wharton are to get a better grade than me and they too have respectable stats, could it then make a significant difference?
I’m just curious as to how much Wharton really cares about this class.
I’m sure they care about the class, but it is one part of the whole application, and not a dealbreaker. I’m sure a large percentage of Wharton admits won’t even have attempted AP Calc BC. Obviously an A or A- would be better, but if that does not happen (and even if it does), work on your essays and EC’s.
If you get a 5, it won’t be a big deal at all. That, along with the 770 and 780, will show that you have a strong enough math background for any of Wharton’s quantitative classes. Like a previous commenter wrote, obviously an A- or A is better, but it won’t be a bigger deal than any other B+ you receive if you get the 5 on the AP Exam.
Getting a B+ in Calc BC junior year is not a deal breaker unless you have other B’s and it will trump applicants who only go as high as Calc AB and/or seniors who take BC. Earn the 5 on the AP, and if you can get your grade up to an A- it is of course even better. The 770 and 780 math scores are solid. Your business EC’s and essays will be very very important.
@cttwenty15 It would be the only B+ on my entire transcript - everything else is some variation of an A. I’m guna try to get it up, yet I just don’t see that happening at this point. But if I take AP Stats and Linear Algebra next year and do well in both of them for first semester, would my application still look worse than someone who got an A in Calc AB during their junior year?
I’m starting to think I made the wrong decision.
You’re good, don’t second guess your decision, but definitely try to get it up and focus on your EC’s and essays. Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calc are impressive, but not AP Stats. Continue with a foreign language, preferably AP level.
I’m already taking the highest level of Spanish offered at my school and have an amazing Spanish-Business Related internship set up for this Summer (I’m probably going to ED to Huntsman). I thought taking an extra AP math would help me in terms of Wharton’s love of math rigor? @cttwenty15
I understand your thinking but AP Stats is actually below Calc BC in status. The Spanish-Business internship is good. I’d suggest picking up an AP history course if you can swing it rather than Stats.
@cttwenty15 I’m also taking AP Econ (macro and micro) and AP Human Geography next year. Even though AP stats is below Calc BC, would doing well in it not help my application?
I’d recommend you take AP Stat over a class like AP Human Geography or another history AP. Penn does not give any credit/waiver for AP Human Geography, whereas you are allowed to skip STAT 101 if you get a 5 on the AP Stat Exam (this is for Wharton; for SAS, you skip STAT 111). From that alone, you should be able to see that Penn respects AP Stat more than Human Geography. Also, since you’d be taking Stat courses in Wharton, it’s a positive on your application to show that you’ve succeeded in AP Stat in high school. Similarly, Penn gives credit for BC and not AB, so don’t regret taking BC thinking that it’d be better if you had gotten an A in AB. If you get the 5 on BC, the B+ won’t matter much at all, and the 5 will be a positive for your application.
Also, make sure you consider who you take advice from. cttwenty15 will be a freshman at Yale in the fall.
I was admitted to a variety of fine universities including Penn and Yale, so I think I am able to give knowledgeable advice. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Penn and although I have decided to matriculate at Yale as @whartonpenn2017 correctly states, Penn was nearly selected. My suggestions to take an AP foreign language and/or AP history class still stand – but with regard to the latter, I was thinking of AP European History or AP US History not AP Human Geography.
Also keep in mind @yesyesyes1 that your goal must focus on getting admitted. Discussion about receiving AP credit at any university is premature and a non-issue if you do not get in (and even then it isn’t always wise to take the AP credit rather than the course).
Which shows that he knows a little bit about the admissions process to elite universities. Personally, I would have no issue listening to his advice.
Thanks, @skieurope. Just paying it forward (and finally enjoying senior slump now that this stressful process is behind me).
Now reading over what I wrote earlier, I see that it could have come off as rude. Sorry about that @cttwenty15. It was late at night, and I didn’t intend for it to come off as it did. I just meant that as a Wharton student, I can verify that AP Stat is a respected course and a good one to have. You had earlier mentioned that AP Stat is not as high as an AP history course in status. I was using the AP credit to show that in the context of Penn and Wharton in particular, that is not true and that AP Stat is a respected course. Also, with regards to the B+ and the 5, I think the fact that Penn gives credit for BC shows that Penn looks at BC as a much better and challenging course than AB to the extent that the 5 and the B+ is seen as more impressive than a 5 on AB and an A. I can’t verify that for sure, but that’s my opinion.
Again, sorry for the comment coming off as rude. It was two in the morning, and I didn’t think it through entirely. My bad.
Well, every college will look at Calc BC that way 