How Much Do Grades Matter in College Admissions?

Applying to College
1

I’m currently a Junior in high school and so far I have had straight A’s. I took no AP classes in freshman year and 3 in sophomore year. And this year, I’m taking five. We’re 2 months into the first semester and I have all A’s currently except for a B in AP Calculus. I know that I still have time to raise my grade to an A before 1st semester grades come out but I’m not entirely sure I will be able too. This will be my first B if I can’t fix it and I will lose my 4.0.

If I do end up not being able to get it back up, how will it affect my chances in admission? In terms of EC’s, mine are good but not extremely impressive. So I was really relying on my grades even though I know there are hundreds of thousands with 4.0’s. Will one B dramatically effect my chances of scholarships and admission into good school. Sorry if I come off naive, but I’m not too familiar with the process and am curious for any perspective anyone could offer. I’m just not sure where to go from here, my only plan right now is to put in as much time as possible into getting my grade up. Should I worry about or am I better off focusing my time and energy on other areas of my application? Any feedback would be appreciated!

2

There are a lot of very good universities in the US. With one single B among a sea of A’s, you are definitely good to get into a very good school, or perhaps more precisely a long list of very good schools.

The very top schools such as Harvard and Stanford are very high reaches for everyone, and even students with nothing but A’s are most likely going to be turned down by both. However, even here one B is not likely to make all that much of a difference.

One issue is that calculus is quite important going forward for a relatively wide range of STEM majors, and a few other majors as well. Thus calculus in particular is a subject where it is worth putting in some extra effort. This is not so much for the grade, but rather because you will be using it down the road.

3

Calculus is often the class in which students receive their first B. Do your best thing semester, and really study for second semester so that you can show improvement. Use tutoring, study guides, ask for help…all the things you should know how to do by the time you go away to college.

4

I thought I would update since first semester grades have just come out. I have all A’s, including Calculus! Thank you for the helpful replies!