<p>Does anyone know the best way to explain a single bad grade to colleges on applications. I got an 84 in physics, but 90+ in everything else ever since freshman year. What is the best way to explain it. It's not like I just gave up in the class, I tried, I was just, well, bad at it. I don't know what to do! Having that 84 among 20+ A's on my transcript is realllllllly going to stand out...</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most admissions people are humanities grads. No explanation needed for a lower physics grade. :-)</p>
<p>Working too hard to explain away one low grade just makes that grade stand out more to the adcom and makes you look defensive and perhaps too focused on grades. A grade of B does not require an explanation.</p>
<p>It sounds like the grade is self-explanatory.
You were “bad” at it and you got a “bad” grade.
That’s what grades are for.</p>
<p>Life goes on and you should move on too. A B won’t make/break your app.</p>
<p>Don’t focus on it. Don’t mention it. Let your transcript speak for itself.
You got an 84–big deal. Accept the fact that you earned an 84 and own it. </p>
<p>It’s one grade for crying out loud.</p>
<p>If you go out of your way to explain one B on your transcript they’re going to think you’re ridiculous and probably wont admit you.</p>
<p>^exactly!..</p>
<p>its a B, relaxxx</p>
<p>Wait, is that a B or a C? Because at my school it would be a C.</p>
<p>Don’t explain, it draws attention to it. The only time you want to explain is if some circumstance (a teacher who is unsympathetic to an illness or something of that nature) prevents you from doing well in the class. If you’re making all As in every other class, it’s pretty apparent that you didn’t just give up. Sounds like physics isn’t your thing.</p>
<p>How would you explain an actual bad grade?</p>
<p>OMG I am actually in the same situation, well similar anyway
I am a SENIOR, and in my mid year report, which is uber important, I got all As (highest grade possible, our school works on a A - E range) for all my academic subjects…my report comments were great so were my examination results.
one catch:
I got a C, a C!!! for TOK, i don’t know if you guys know what TOK is, it’s theory of knowledge. (I am doing the IB diploma, TOK is a mandatory subject)
It’s just like a core subject for IB and we don’t even have it in semester 2.</p>
<p>I am so scared that colleges will look at that horrible C and reject me.
I’m so sorry if I sound so melodramatic, but omg, me and As go a loooooooong way back, i don’t think I’ve even actually made a B before.</p>
<p>I am not going to major in pilosophically related (which is what TOK essentially is) subjects next year, I was ranked 1st in my graduating class for TOK last year.</p>
<p>Do you guys think it will make a big impact?</p>
<p>The only C my daughter ever received was her last semester of HS and it was in religion. The religion teacher was so awful (Daughter passed out in the night, broke her nose and three front teeth, spent most of the night in the ER and when she got home, she e-mailled teachers to explain what had happened. That woman turned her in for reporting herself in sick and I had already called). We refer to her as the Rev. Yale F—ing Divinity. Lots of compassion there. She got a special mention in my end of year letter to the head mistress.</p>
<p>So, what do I think? I think that when a grade pops up that is somewhat random in nature, adcoms don’t think much about it at all. If you had Cs in all your math courses or some other academic subject, red flags would fly.</p>
<p>Whining about a B or a C in a letter to an admissions committee is not something I would recommend. Even if the reasons for the “Bad” grade (and by the way, those aren’t “bad” grades) are good, the feeble mewling just draws attention to your flaws and makes you seem unpleasant. I’m not saying that something like that will tank your application by any means, but I don’t see any reason to highlight your personality flaws in a college application. </p>
<p>It’s sort of like your job application; you wouldn’t attach a letter whining and complaining about how mean your manager at the McDonald’s where you worked at during high school was, even if it’s all true and justified.</p>
<p>You shouldn’t explain a bad grade if you achieve it because of you just couldn’t get an A. Such explanations are usually reserved for people who suffered an illness or something along that line, which caused the bad grade.</p>
<p>A “B” is not a bad grade… people make it seem like its an F. Hey, just got my unofficial transcripts. Guys… I got…wait for it… 4 B’s! I’ll never get in anywhere but a bottom Tier 2 school! “gasp!” Gosh, 1 B? Lol. you dont have to explain it.</p>