<p>Sorry for the repetitive nature of this question...</p>
<p>But if I have 5 'B's sophomore year and straight 'A's all throughout the rest of high school and am in the top 1%... Can I still get into HYPSM?</p>
<p>The 'B's were in two semesters of AP Euro and AP Chem, and one in Academic Decathlon.</p>
<p>If you are in the top 1% of your class, then you should be fine imo</p>
<p>I haven’t heard back from colleges, but I got 3 Bs. 2 B+ and 1B. I got one in soph, one in junior and one in senior year. They were all in APs. I think you should try to minimize your Bs as much as you can.</p>
<p>It really depends on the rest of your application. Since you’re in the top 1%, it shouldn’t be much of an issue at all (as your school is clearly quite difficult). Since they’re sophomore year, they’re far less important than junior or senior year (1st semester) Bs would be.</p>
<p>Top schools like HYPSM are a reach for everyone, so the goal is to make your application as competitive as possible. There are going to be so many applicants with perfect grades that applicants may be considered sub-par because of those few B’s, which is scary! It’s not like there is a concrete number that’s a cut-off for not getting in, but because so many amazing people are applying, B’s (especially when considering it isn’t just one or two) may hurt your chances even more. But then it depends on the rigor of your courses and your school! So many factors to consider…</p>
<p>Basically, you can use your essays to explain the “holes” in your application, and make sure that other aspects of your app like SAT’s and such make up for the lower GPA. It’s so hard to get into those schools.</p>
<p>Class rank puts your GPA into context. If top 1% includes Bs, then that’s fine.</p>
<p>Depends on your HS. Top 1% won’t cut it at our HS, where the Val is accepted to H every year; that requires zero B’s. Y & P & M acceptees also have zero B’s. Stanford is a little more forgiving – for legacies. Non-HYP Ivy acceptees have a couple of B’s…</p>
<p>^ Agree. Top 1% won’t cut it at our HS either, Val usually goes to a HYPS, rest of top 1% go to other top ten schools.</p>
<p>It’s that competitive.</p>
<p>At my big school (700 kids/grade) not a single person has gotten accepted to Harvard, and we’re pretty up there academically. Sherpa’s got it right.</p>
<p>Sorry, four 'B’s is the limit, you’re done for.</p>
<p>1 B is Evened Out With: Being school president
3 Bs are Evened Out With: Being All-State athlete or musician
5 Bs are Evened Out With: Being an Olympic gold medal winner
7 Bs are Evened Out With: Curing Cancer and/or AIDS (your pick)</p>
<p>This list is foolproof. I even had it approved by Harvard and Yale adcoms.</p>
<p>
I hope you’re not fishing for a numerical answer here…</p>
<p>^^School president doesn’t mean ****. It’s a popularity contest and for most schools, they really don’t do all that much.</p>
<p>^^
No, just a general one.</p>
<p>I go to a public, mildly competitive school, actually. Most courses aren’t challenging, the ones I got 'B’s in just happened to be that way.</p>
<p>Many with 4.0 GPAs will be rejected. Quite a few with sub-4.0 GPAs will be accepted. It depends on the person and the other factors.</p>
<p>If you’re a college class of 2015 applicant, you’ll know in less than a month anyway.</p>
<p>You can only have a maximum of 6 B’s. Otherwise they would simply ignore your application, and you’ll be rejected right away.</p>
<p>^
I know you think you’re being witty… But others already beat you to it.</p>
<p>As many B’s as HYPS deems appropriate. No one but the committee can give you a concrete answer.</p>
<p>Sent from my SPH-D700 using CC App</p>
<p>@Saugus</p>
<p>I saw CalvinTBOD’s post. That’s a joke. I actually heard mine from an admissions officer at Harvard. They give you a rating for your academic performance and 6 B’s is the boundary between the first and the second “class.”</p>