My High School

<p>The main idea that I've gotten out of various threads on this forum that concern B's and GPA's is that if an applicant comes from a very good school (either a well-known private or a competitive public), and if he or she has a few B's on his or her transcript, then those B's won't be an admissions killer. Another impression that I have gleaned from this forum is that Yale apparently makes an initial elimination of applicants by weeding out those whose grades are subpar. After they do that, then they roll up their sleeves to get into the ECs, etc (appetizer first, than the "meat and potatoes").</p>

<p>This conclusion leaves me worried, because:</p>

<p>a) I come from a public school that isn't academically competitive, compared to some of the schools that I've come across on these boards. Last year we sent two kids to Dartmouth, two to Harvard (as recruited athletes), one to Princeton, and one to Brown. That year, the graduating class was particularly gifted. The year before we only had two Harvard-bound athletes and one Cornell kid (not to put those schools down by saying "only"), which is our normal Ivy output, in terms of how many Ivies (and not that we normally send a couple kids to Harvard every year, or anything). I don't mean to summarize my school's achievement by stating only which Ivies, and not which good liberal arts colleges or other universities, that students have been accepted to. I am just trying to give you an idea of what my 300-ish-kids-per-grade, suburban, not-ultra-competitive school is like.</p>

<p>b) I have a few B's in my transcript. My midyear report has two B's. I need to know if, because I come from a more laidback school, my GPA (95/100) has already eliminated me from Yale's admissions rounds. I need to know if Yale thinks that because an applicant comes from a less competitive school, that applicant needs to have straight A's to "keep up" with the stronger competitive-school applicants. </p>

<p>Also, I get the impression that I was supposed to have taken all APs, honors, but I have only taken an honors math course this year. All the rest of my math courses have been regular. And not so coincidentally, the few B's in my transcript were in my math classes (as well as in science). Other than that, I have taken all APs, honors.</p>

<p>I would appreciate if someone would tell me if I honestly didn't have a chance at Yale to begin with. I did apply, by the way. I need to know my fate so that I don't have to waste any more time Googling everything Yale and fantasizing about an acceptance. It's better if I let this go now, than let my hopes escalate for another two and a half weeks until decision day. </p>

<p>Thank you for taking the time to view this dreadfully long post. Thanks for your expertise!</p>

<p>a) Many other schools send zero to Ivies every year. My school usually only sends 2-3.
b) I don't know what the 100 point system translates into out of 4.0. But a few Bs definitely won't eliminate you. Taking a rigorous schedule is important. It sounds like you've taken lots of APs and honors so that's good. It also sounds like math is not your strong point, so pulling back slightly in that area is okay.</p>

<p>It's tough to tell you anything without more information (rank, SATs, ECs, etc.). But you're grades are far from eliminating you from competition.</p>

<p>By the way, nothing we tell you will ease your nerves. Go enjoy the rest of senior year.</p>