So my sophomore school year is ending for me and I have quite a few B’s on my report Card. My unweighted GPA is a 3.75, with 2 B’s Freshman year and 2 B’s sophomore year. My courses are fairly difficult however, with 2 AP Classes and a 6.0 class freshman year and another 2 AP classes sophomore year.
(In my school standard is 4.0, honors is 5.0, AP and a select few courses are 6.0) My weighted GPA is 5.0, with classrank being 2. )
The B’s were in AP Human Geography, AP Statistics, Spanish 2, and Spanish 3.
My courseload is probably one of the more difficult of my class, but as a result, I have 4 B’s as an underclassman.
How badly will this hurt my chances for top colleges-say top 15 colleges?
I don’t have much to show apart from academics. My strong suits would be math and science, I’ve done numerous math competitions and placed top 20 in some national math competitions. I have done some physics competitions as well, but the results aren’t as good. I do volunteer a lot for well known organizations and play tennis.
My SAT scores are decent, but I’m working on improving them. My goal is to get at least a 2300 Junior year. At the moment my score sophomore year was a 2210-800 math, 700 reading, 710 writing. My AP scores so far are All 5’s freshman year (BC Calc and Psychology)
So…how are my chances for a good college? I plan on focusing on math or finance.(I realize that my B in statistics doesn’t help that cause at all)
It’s okay to get a couple of Bs, especially in AP classes as an underclassmen! Colleges care more about your course difficulty and class rank than GPA. So instead of obsessing over these Bs, I would focus on things you can improve in the future, such as your SAT score and extracurriculars. If math is your passion, you really need to do some things to stand out in that area. Brainstorm things you could do, such as a mentorship. You might also want to try the ACT. In my opinion, it’s a better test than the SAT. Good luck!
Chance me too please! 
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18559115#Comment_18559115
Define “good” college. With 4000+ colleges in the US, you have a great chance at so many of them. Work hard, do your best, do what you love and everything will work out in the end.
@Gumbymom he did - he said top 15 schools.
I would try my hardest to get straight A’s junior year, which would bring you to a very solid 3.83, and then straight A’s for your first semester of senior year. Then, as long as your SAT, EC’s, and essays are excellent, I don’t think you’ll have a problem getting into a few great school.
Bs obviously don’t help for top 15-20 colleges, but you’ll be fine with only 4-- as long as the count doesn’t increase much more and you continue the high course rigor you’re taking. If you especially want Ivys and like the top 5-10 schools below the Ivys I’d try to get all As junior year (which is the most important year for college anyway)-- especially if you plan to apply early decision somewhere (and you probably want to if you have a clear top choice because it boosts your chances a ton).
Sorry, missed that and follow @jackrabbit14’s advice ^^^^^. Just be realistic in your chances and understand that there are many more qualified applicants than there are spots available.
How many classes do you take a semester? That puts gpa into perspective.