<p>Ok so for some reason this quarter in honors pre-calc I've been doing terrible. I understand all of the material and know what I am doing but then come test time, I do stupid little mistakes which result in getting an average of 3-4 points off and the tests are worth 25 points so therefore on my tests I have gotten an 87%, 84%, 92%, and 90%. I'm so disappointed I've been crying and worrying myself sick as I've never gotten a B. I understand it's no big deal but then I need to get an A on the final exam in order to get an A for the year and if I don't, then my As first semester don't even matter. I've never gotten a B before and I'm wondering what if I get a B for the year? How will it affect my chances at these schools:
Reaches:
Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, Vassar, NYU, Georgetown
and my matches:
BC, BU, Fordham, American, Northeastern, Syracuse, Rochester</p>
<p>considering the following:
-4.8 weighted gpa [4.0 uw]
-28/29 ACT [hopefully will get higher next time]
-ranked in the top 10 in my class
-All honors/AP [8 APs total when I graduate so hardest course load possible]
-weak outside ECs however since my parents worked weird shifts/lots of overtime so I had to take take care of my brother and the house, but what ECs I do have I hold leadership positions in but are pretty generic- Spanish club secretary, section leader in orchestra, freshman mentor, office/teacher aide but I will hopefully be selected as a zoo volunteer this summer and will volunteer at my local historical society. I also have a job at an ice cream shop and have been selected [one of 2 people] to attend Girl's State with the American Legion.
-I think I'll have a good essay
-great recommendations
-will be a first generation college student and trilingual</p>
<p>I understand that people get into ivies and other top schools who have received Bs, but I'm worried because of my ACT/ECs in combination with the possible B for the year. Sorry for all the info. thrown at you. I appreciate your time if you're read this far! So, should I just forget about my reaches? What schools do you recommend for me with my stats in the Boston/NY area? Also, if I do really well at say American or BU, what would my chances at transferring to one of my reaches be? I feel like such a loser and a failure, mainly because of the insane amount of pressure from my mom :(</p>
<p>I think one B is fine even with not so great scores/ECs. It’s fine as long as you’re doing really well in the courses that correspond to a field you want to go into. Are you going into math? Also, take the math SATII and, if you score highly on that, you’ll be fine. I know of a friend who got a B in biology, a 750 on the subject test and got into UPENN. </p>
<p>Your GPA and rank look great, and one B won’t make a difference. Don’t worry your self sick. Instead, if you know you’re going to get a B, don’t work so hard in trying to bring that up, but rather focus on your ACT or ECs. How many hours a week do you work? Your ECs aren’t bad, but they’re like several other students’ ECs. In the end, it really is about luck so make sure your teacher recs/essays are good.</p>
<p>With your current stats (also using the ACT scores given) you are a good candidate for all your reaches and won’t be considered an “automatic-reject.” Just try and bring up your scores and you’ll be fine. In fact, getting a B, but focusing on the ACT, will be better in the long run than worrying yourself sick trying to get everything perfect - you can really drive yourself crazy. I don’t mean don’t study again in pre-calc, but study and just don’t worry so much about the grade. Unless math is a field you want to go into, focus more on the ACT or ECs, or another aspect of the application.</p>
<p>Vehicle and AnnaSmith- wow! You guys made me feel so much better! And I want to go into political science/IR and I had a solid A in AP Gov and Politics for the year. And I’m gonna start studying my butt off for the ACT starting tonight in prep. for the April 4th test date, do you think I should have started earlier? =/ Oh yeah, I’m a junior, that’s why I’m freaking out so much about this B.</p>
<p>And anyone have any suggestions for other schools for me? Especially matches and safeties?</p>
<p>Well… I’ve seen you around before, so I know you’re not a ■■■■■. </p>
<p>Pre-Calculus is a difficult subject for many people, and the majority in Pre-calc in my school would be excited to get a B. </p>
<p>Well… the ECs you can’t improve on right now as you’re a junior. It’s too late to try anything new… and be really good at it to be noticeable. For your scores, I’m sure you can do better with a lot of studying over the summer. It’s been done before. </p>
<p>As for the B… don’t worry about it. I had a B in Alg II and English Honors… ironically, I got A’s in all my AP classes…</p>
<p>For next year I’d recommend considering a lower level of Calculus… or NOT taking Calculus… Calculus is exponentially harder than pre-calc in my school.</p>
<p>Gryffon5147- I already signed up for AP Calc and I had A’s both first and second quarter in honors pre-calc (and all of my years in math every quarter) and I totally understand what I’m doing in class and on the homework and even on the tests, but there’s been so much work involved lately (we just got done doing vectors in space and everything associated with that stuff) that I’ve been rushed and I’ll forget negatives or add instead of subtract. Still think I shouldn’t take AP Calc? I love math, that’s part of the reason this is so stressful and hard on me. And thanks for the encouragement! I see you’re going to Yale, congratulations! And you even got a B yet A’s in all APs, so that makes me feel better.</p>
<p>One B will be fine, but it seems you could graduate will straight A’s all of high school (according to your 4.0 uw gpa). Go for it! If that were me, I’d kill myself over getting a B and just do whatever I must to earn that A. Colleges though probably won’t care much, especially since everything else is fine.</p>
<p>Chill. Everybody gets a B at one point or another in his/her high school career. Every top 10 in my class has gotten at least one B, including one who got into MIT. </p>
<p>Chill. It’s who you are, what you do, and whether you do it with a passion that impresses colleges. Feel better?</p>
<p>If you didn’t seem so honest, I’d think you’re a ■■■■■.</p>
<p>Seriously, a single B (from a single semester!?) isn’t something to get worked up over. It’s the tiniest blip on your overall GPA and your admission will NOT come down to it.</p>
<p>The bigger problem is your ACT score. Work on bring that up (>31 for your reaches).</p>
<p>But I do get what you mean by making silly mistakes. I understand math perfectly, yet I often end up getting things wrong on tests for the stupidest of reasons (forgetting a 0, wrong sign, etc.). Good luck for the rest of the year, though!</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks for all of the great responses! I feel so much better! Now I just wish I could explain this to my mom… hah. This is why I love CC, yet at the same time sometimes it makes me feel incredibly inadequate. Oh, the catch 22.</p>
Still think I shouldn’t take AP Calc? I love math, that’s part of the reason this is so stressful and hard on me. And thanks for the encouragement! I see you’re going to Yale, congratulations! And you even got a B yet A’s in all APs, so that makes me feel better.</p>