Moving schools & adjustment--Are these grades competitive?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>So here's what my transcript looks like, including electives like PE and Art (you can assume those are the A's)</p>

<p>9th grade:
S1: B+, A-, A-, A-, A, A, A
S2: A-, A-, A-, A-, A-, A, A</p>

<p>10th grade:
T1: B, B, B+, A-, A-, A, A
T2: B, B+, B+, A-, A-, A, A
T3: B, B, B+, A, A, A, A</p>

<p>11th grade
T1: B+, A-, A-, A, A, A, A
T2: A-, A, A, A, A, A, A
T3: A, A, A, A, A, A, A</p>

<p>12th grade (predicted)
T1: A, A, A, A, A, A, A</p>

<p>So here's my situation--</p>

<p>In 9th grade I attended an easy, large (900-1000 kids per class), public school, that went by semesters. Hence, the A's... and the one B+. I moved halfway across the country to an extremely rigorous small (100 kids per class) private school on trimesters to start 10th grade. I was not prepared at all and it honestly took me one year to fully adjust (hence, the sudden, year-long drop in grades) because there's a lot of work and very high expectations. I've been taking the most rigorous course-load all throughout high school also.</p>

<p>I'm only a rising junior and I'm pretty sure those are the grades I'm going to be getting since I'm fully adjusted now. My school only calculates GPA for 11th and 12th grades so my GPA will be approximately 4.58/4.64 by the time I apply for college. But if my school did 4.0 A, 3.0 B I'd have a 3.8 flat. According to the college counseling department, the average yale-accepted GPA (remember, it's only calculated for 11th and 12th grades) is ~4.5 flat.</p>

<p>My dream school is Yale (other top choices are Princeton, UChicago, Brown, Duke), but I'm very concerned about my GPA affecting me negatively. My counselor will be mentioning how my sophomore year was an adjustment year and that's why my grades dropped. However, I'm sure this won't fully excuse all those B's and I'll be held accountable for them. So, I'm asking this: is my GPA going to damage me severely or will Yale cut me some slack because I had a big adjustment to make?</p>

<p>**Note: we don't rank. But based on junior/senior year GPA I'm in the top 10% definitely. Cumulatively, probably only top 15%.</p>

<p>And some other stats to consider in context:
2380 SAT, 2x800 SAT2's so far, should have great recs (but they'll only be in 5%-15% boxes probably), pretty good ECs with leadership... and I'm Asian.</p>

<p>Sorry this was so long! but thanks to those who read & respond!</p>

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<p>bump …</p>

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<p>bump… again!</p>

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<p>bump. any reponses? (Sorry to bump 3 times in 24 hours… haha)</p>

5

<p>I don’t think you should worry too much about your GPA, because your high SAT proves that those Bs really were due to adjustment. As long as your colleges know the situation and consider your scores, you will not be rejected on the basis of your GPA. (Of course, they’re all very competitive schools, so ECs, essays, etc. have to be excellent as well)</p>

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<p>All you can do is control what you can. As the Asian pool is hyper competitive at these schools, do everything you can to differentiate yourself from this crowd. Don’t take just math/science/Chinese SATIIs. Make sure your EC’s are exceptional and not stereotypical Asian. Develop genuine leadership. Apply for prestigious (free) summer programs. Take a passion to the highest heights. All of these things can fade B’s.</p>

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<p>thanks, TheFutureIsHere and hmom5!
any other opinions?</p>

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<p>bump…</p>

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<p>Hey chair2. I’m a senior now and my situation is very similar to yours (changed to a tougher, small private school in tenth grade). In short, I think you’ll be fine. Your drop was understandable as you were adjusting. Furthermore, you dropped to some B’s, which isn’t too bad. If you keep getting solid grades, I don’t think any school will look too closely at your tenth grade. People grow. What matters is how good of a student you are now. It’s also important to realize that colleges know the schools (or at least the good from the bad). You’ll have a better chance coming from a good private school. Your test scores are obviously good too. Stop worrying about the past and keep doing well. GL!</p>

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<p>bump…</p>

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<p>bump…</p>

12

<p>Bumppppppppppppppppppppp</p>