I am a sophomore in high school and i know that I am getting some A minuses. I aspire to go to an Ivy League school, but do I have to say “goodbye” to Ivy League admission if I get A minuses?
Not good by. But most top schools only take the very top students from most high schools. So if you are not in the top 1-5 kids in the school, your chances can diminish unless you have some attribute they really want. It does depend on your high school, though and the grades of the other kids in that school that are taking courses like yours.
This is definitely not a clean-cut answer. If you took the most advanced course offered, you are more than okay with an A-. Seriously, someone I know get into UPenn with, dare I say it, a B+ semester in Pre-AP Pre-Cal, but it is a killer course at my school. However, if it was just some regular, easy course then you might have a problem, but obviously, you’re a smart kid, so it’ll be okay.
Simmer down and just enjoy the next two years of high school.
From my understanding, not all schools give -'s or +'s, so just try to get A-'s instead of B+'s. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong. 
Yeah, as far as I know, they couldn’t care how many +'s or -'s you have. It’s the letter that counts.
One or two slip ups don’t matter that much, in my opinion, if you were already an attractive applicant. I have several Bs on my transcript.
A-s are okay, they won’t kill you. Just make sure you’re taking the highest level classes your school offers, and take APs junior year. Try to develop your extracurriculars and leadership too next year. Try to move up into the A range if you can though. It helps your chances to get in. Basically, improve to the A range and your chances to get in will grow.
Depends on the ivy. Cornell probably won’t care. It also depends on how rigorous your school/program is and what classes you will have lower grades in. If you’re a full IB candidate, for example, an A- here and there is nothing to scoff at.
A-'s!!! WHAT. Well your obviously not going to get anywhere. You should just quit and work at the dry cleaners… (note sarcasm). I’ve known many people who have gotten into the toughest Ivies with, there I say it, B’s. Calm down, you are more than your grades, just let the admission people know it.
You’ve screwed up your chances. Your life is over.
I knew a kid who got into Cornell with B’s, so it is ok.
As long as you’re getting 90s or higher, then you’re fine. An A- is excellent and no school will look down on you for not getting an A or an A+.
I called Stanford’s admissions office about A-'s too a while back, and the representative said they completely disregard +'s and -'s there. Dunno about Ivies, but I can’t imagine that they’d be much different in their policies.
if i get a B+ in honors chemistry and everything else is either an A or A-… am i done for the ivy league?
yes, its very very very bad to get A-'s
ariaimsforivies: If you’re smart enough to get mostly As as a HS student, in your examination of what the Ivies publish as their guidelines for viable students, why don’t you extrapolate what they mean? In your assumption, only 4.0 students get admitted, right? Or wrong?
Tell us what you discover.
I guess you are right, T26E4. Colleges want students who do other things with their time and not just study non-stop. I do not study non- stop and I do other things with my time.
Thanks for helping me realize something really important.
Also, class rank will probably quite important. For example when you are compared with students with 4.0 GPAs, perhaps 10% of all students have a 4.0 GPA at that school.
Anyway, A- is still quite good!
Yeah, it’s terrible. Terrible, terrible, terrible. You won’t amount to anything in life, so quit while you’re ahead.
…All joking aside, Christiansoldier is right. Some schools don’t even give +s and -s. An A is an A.
Nope, not at all. I got 7 A-'s and a B+ over the course of my high school years and I was admitted to Penn. Rigor of the curriculum and class rank (if you have it), along with everything else matters when you’re talking about As vs. A-s.