<p>I have one B- on my transcript, thank god its not a C. Is it worth it for my counselor to explain this grade? There's a good explanation involving a teacher who then retired afterwards</p>
<p>No. </p>
<p>more chars to fulfill minimum limit</p>
<p>I would not worry about it. The admissions people are going to see it, but it will not be their sole focus. By “explaining” it, you might bring more attention to it, which could turn negative. Especially if you come across as whiny or entitled in the explanation.</p>
<p>So if the rest of your grades are really solid, I would just let it be, especially if it was in a rigorous class.</p>
<p>What is the reason? If it’s not a circumstance out of your control, let it go.</p>
<p>the teacher graded the class like it was a gym class, there weren’t tests or hw, and since he disliked me he gave me a B-.</p>
<p>It’s probably not to your advantage. You should use that space to talk more about why the college would be interested in you.
If you justify it, you may come across the wrong way and actually hurt you in the application process.
That one B- will not be the sole cause of you getting rejected to any school.</p>
<p>If it was a reason other than ‘it was just a hard class’, ie you were working extra that semester, had family issues, etc., then YES. If you’re applying to very competitive schools, it can make a difference. It is to your advantage to make your app as competitive as it can be, so I would strongly consider it if it helps your cause. good luck!</p>
<p>“That one B- will not be the sole cause of you getting rejected to any school.”
But that on top of other B’s could be.</p>
<p>nose2Dgrind, the reason wasn’t that it was a hard class, or anything legitimate either.</p>
<p>also, would it be better in the counselor rec or additional info section?</p>
<p>Do you really believe the GC will write that the teacher disliked you to explain a B-??</p>
<p>I think it is relevant to consider how the college would view that explanation. I personally would not want admissions people to know that a teacher disliked me, because that would put a negative light on my personality, where a B- is not the end of the world.</p>
<p>i’ve had one B- and one B in my high school career. and those are the only low grades i’ve gotten. is it worth it to explain these two?</p>
<p>also, in that section after your essay (on the Common App) it asks for optional extra info. are you guys going to say anything?</p>
<p>“explain” when its just one or two specific classes usually translates by the time it gets to the adcom as “making excuses”. Maybe the teacher was incompetent or didn’t bother to teach anymore, set impossibly high standards, or just had it in for you personally due to racism or some other cause. These and others things happen, and they’re unfair. However what you’re in effect asking is for some adcom --who’s never met you, the teacher, or set foot on your school – to retroactively raise your grade in the class as far as the transcript is concerned.</p>
<p>Adcoms don’t have the time or energy to investigate your low grades. They are what they are. I know this is hard to swallow for many HS kids who feel entitled to the same things everyone else gets in their classes or dispensation when they don’t. But from the adcom’s point of view, one of two things happened when it isn’t your “fault” for the bad grade. On the one hand, the teacher had it in for you. In that case, the adcom isn’t the one to be changing your grade; the administrators who are right there on the scene, familiar with the teacher and class, are the ones to make the call. That they haven’t speaks volumes about the validity of your complaint, as far as adcoms are concerned. </p>
<p>The second cause is ineffective teaching – “I would have learned it if we had a decent teacher”. And here comes a little surprise; while the college viewbook brags about all the distinguished degrees and awards the faculty has won and how fortunate undergrads are to be taught by these luminaries in their fields, adcoms know that tenure and promotion in academia are won by scholarship quality and teaching ability is irrelevant (at most schools) . Truth be told, some profs are poor teachers. Which means you’re going to have to use the syllabus and then work with fellow students and outside material you take the initiative to find in order to master the material. Nothing stops you from taking this initiative in HS. Complaining about the teaching raises a flag notifying the adcom you can’t or won’t do this, and at a time one year before you become a college student!</p>
<p>About the only “explain” that works is one few HS students will write, acccepting complete responsibility for the poor grade and explaining how you changed in response, preferably with grades to back it up. For example
</p>
<p>One or two sentences in passing on your counselor rec. seems like an adequate explanation if and only if it was truly out of your control.</p>