Hello. Current junior here who wants to pursue engineering/CS. I am unfortunately going to end with a B in AP Calc this year, and was just wondering how bad this would be, considering I am an Asian dude in CS. The rest of my grades are all A’s/A+’s with an A- in ap gov. Thanks.
Why is this urgent? You got a B. There are LOTS of schools where you can study CS where that won’t matter. There are a few where even with a 4.0 you were unlikely to get in just based on the sheer number of highly qualified applicants. You’ll be fine. Finish strong, and don’t buy into the myth that you’ll only be successful at a unicorn school.
6 Likes
Wait until July to see what your AP test score is. A 4 will validate the B. A 5 will likely help you. In any event, what @eyemgh said is 100% true. In some schools, whether or not you have a B won’t matter and in some schools, an A won’t help.
Yeah I am fine with not going to a top school, it’s just that I would hate for calc to be the reason I get rejected flat out.
Alright thanks, that does help. So a b won’t be the reason I get rejected from a top school?
I agree. If the grade is already in, don’t worry about it, and just move forward. If you haven’t taken the final yet, get off of CC and get access to someone who can help you, and just prep like mad, to do your absolute best on the final exam.
As already said, this one B will not kill your applications. Your safety and match schools won’t reject you because of it, and it wouldn’t stop your reach/dream schools from accepting you, if they want you for other reasons. And if what you want is Comp Sci, know that people who graduate with a degree in this from anywhere are getting great jobs - after that first job, it’s only about whether you can do the job, no one really cares that much where you went.
If it’s done, forget about it and move on. If not, put your all into prepping for the final.
1 Like
Calculus won’t be the reason. It will be because they get 30,000 fully qualified candidates for 2,000 slots.
Also, be careful how you define “top.” According to College Scorecard, grads of San Jose State make more than Texas CS grads at 2 years. TX is #10. Know what the rankings measure. Know what is important to your experience.
4 Likes
Considering the list of colleges in your thread Chance a nervous junior for CS , any grade lower than A could add a demerit to your application. One grade lower than A by itself may not sink your application to those colleges, but the more demerits an admission reader sees, the worse your chances will be.
Of course, if you broaden your college search to include colleges are not so difficult to get into, you can relax more.
Did the OP ask for a definition of objective vs subjective? Or to engage in sidebar debates unrelated to their question? Because I’m not doing it. You all have been here long enough to know that you do not always need to take the bait or try to get the last word Move on please.
2 Likes
One of my kids has an engineering degree and never took calculus in high school…at all.
So…you can get accepted in an engineering program without taking calculus…or with getting a B grade.
3 Likes
Don’t worry about the grade. You can even get a few bs in science and math classes and still get into a great engineering school. Do the best. Do something else at school to show your ecs. Apply realistically. You don’t need all As to go to college for engineering.
One grade will not define you. At most colleges you will never know why you were admitted or denied to a college - and it will not be due to one grade. Colleges with cut scores or other thresholds obviously could be impacted, but based on your other posts you have a healthy mix of colleges with holistic admissions.
Your AP score will give you an idea of where you stand on proficiency along with a conversation with your teacher. As you move forward in more advanced math next year make sure to fill in any gaps.
Spend time this summer digging in on CS and Engineering options at different colleges as the CS in engineering schools compared to being housed in other departments changes your options and experiences. Look at the course catalogs and see what may be of interest to you. Figure out if you want a small CS or engineering program with a maker space and collaborative projects or straight programming and expansive offerings or some combination. Your essays will come across as more authentic if you understand why you want to be at one school over another.