I got might get a B+ if I don’t clutch AP Music Theory this year. I also had gotten at least 4 A-'s in freshman/sophomore year, making my weighted GPA not as high as I would like it to be. Is it still fine for ivies? I think I have a 3.89 unweighted. Someone, please help.
I have seen one very strong student who was an exceptional musician take AP music theory. It is not an easy course at all! I don’t think that a B+ in AP music is going to have much of an impact on your application unless you intend to be a music major, and maybe not even then.
No one can predict whether one B+ and four A-'s will keep you from getting accepted to an Ivy League university. Admissions at Ivy League and equivalent schools is very difficult and very unpredictable. You definitely need to spend a lot more time thinking about other universities, including universities where you are likely to be accepted.
However, if you really want to have a good chance to be accepted to an Ivy League university, then you are going to need to learn something about each of the 8 Ivy League schools, and figure out which one(s) are a good fit for you and which ones are not a good fit for you. They are not all the same.
Fretting about one B shows that you have to invest some time educating yourself about the college admissions process. Highly selective schools, whether Ivy league or not, reject even most straight A students. Successful applicants have the whole package - good grades, rigorous curriculum, high test scores, awards, impressive ECs, demonstrated community service.
I am always concerned when a student asks ‘is this fine for an Ivy?’. Ivy league schools are very different, and a student who has taken the time to understand these differences, and where their profile fits best, will likely have better admissions results as compared to a student who thinks Columbia and Dartmouth are equally attractive simply because they play in the same athletic league.
Cast a wide net and have a balanced list of schools to apply to (2-3 reaches, 4-6 matches, 1-2 highly likelies that you would be happy to attend, which are also affordable). Good luck.
My daughter, who just graduated from Rice, got into “an Ivy” with a 3.97uw and 4.37w GPA. She also got in without having taken an AP science course or AP calculus, which–I see in retrospect–is usually the kiss of death for Ivy applications, regardless of GPA. Hence I would say that your 4.56w by no means disqualifies you for consideration from an Ivy.
On the other hand, I would agree with earlier posters in encouraging you to cast your net wider than the just the eight Ivy League schools. They are not the end-all and be-all of American higher education.
It’s worth noting that my daughter ended up turning down the Ivy option in order to attend a school was a better fit. So did her freshman roommate, and so did many other Rice students, and so do many students at a range of colleges and universities across the country.
Lol. Ivies don’t care about weighted. Yes, you need to be “educating yourself about the college admissions process.” Otherwise, you’re treating this like a shot in the dark, won’t know how to make your best presentation. And we guarantee you they aren’t looking for kids who just want to throw darts at a bunch of prestige colleges.
Top adcoms look at the transcript, to see course choices and grades. A B in APMT wont likely hurt you if you aren’t a music major.
But not knowing what you’re applying to will be a problem.
Fine? Do you mean that it absolutely will make no difference? No, it’s not fine. Yes, it can make a difference. How much, enough to make a difference for you, nobody can tell.
There are kids with UW GPAs lower than yours who got into highly selected colleges. But do bear in mind that these type of schools have many many more applicants than they can take, so they look to eliminate, reject. They also often move very quickly through the applications. So all things equal, if there are a lot of applicants similar to you with higher grades, you might be out.
There are a lot of posts on this theme. Would a B in this subject, a 98, not taking a course etc etc. And whether it makes a difference. Yes, it can. It all can. But then it might not. If you can order up your transcript ahead of time, a 3.89 would not be preferable to a 4.0. At my son’s school it would have made the difference between being in the top 10% and not.
One B+ will not make a notable difference for your chances, focus on extracurriculars and essays for top schools instead of this. There are plenty of kids with perfect stats who don’t get into the ivys.
A 3.8+/4.0UW in a very rigorous course load likely means the rest of the application will get a read or two. Then it is up to all the other parts of your application to make or break you.