Please help a junior whose grades dropped :(

Applying to College
1

I really hope that more than two people will read this and be kind enough to respond. Every time I’ve posted on College Confidential, I have had barely anyone notice my question, which is making me wonder about how much help I can actually get here.

Anyway, I would appreciate it if you can give me honest answers that are as detailed as you can make them.

How bad does my grade record look with two B’s in my junior year? I’m already very disappointed in myself and very upset. My goal is to get into a top-tier school or maybe even an Ivy League, primarily Brown. I have extracurriculars, of course, and a 2360 SAT. (I am also Asian, which I think makes it look a lot worse. Again, please don’t be too mean or overly cynical if you do input, as I am already upset.)

Predicted 11th grade
AP LANG COMP A
AP CALC AB B+
AP STATS A
AP PHYSICS 1 B or B+
AP WORLD HISTORY A
LAT 3-H A or A+
PHYS ED 3 A or A+
HEALTH 3 A+

10th grade
ENG 2-H A

PRE-CALC H A-

CHEMISTRY-H A-

AP US HISTORY A

LAT 2-H A

PHYS ED 2 A+

HEALTH 2 DET A

CHAMBER ORCH 1-1 A+

9th grade
ENG 1-H A-

GEOM-H A

ALG 2-H A-

BIOLOGY-H A-

US HIST 1-H A-

LAT 1-H A+

PHYS ED 1 A+

HEALTH 1 A+

2

Hey there, you’ll be ok. Not guaranteeing you can get into those schools in any case since they’re very selective (as you well know). However, I don’t think 2 Bs or B+s are going to wreck your application. The 2360 SAT is very impressive (congratulations!), though not uncommon among applicants at those schools. Just make sure you have a balanced college list and I’m sure you’ll have some great options come next spring!

3

You may be getting no response because people think you are over-reacting to 2 Bs. The point of holistic review is that the schools look at the entire academic record, the rec letters, the ECs and other circumstances. Rather than stressing over something that you have no control over at this point, focus on the things that you can do that will differentiate you from all the other students with excellent grades and test scores.

4

You haven’t mentioned the colleges you’re thinking about, much less your interests in terms of academics, environment, or location. Your academic chops are fine, but I suspect you’re primarily interested in the tiny handful of colleges where those stats won’t necessarily get you in. If that’s so, your chances probably aren’t very good, because nobody’s chances are good. Stanford only accepts 25-30% of applicants with perfect 2400 SAT scores. That’s still a much more encouraging number than their overall 5% acceptance rate.

5

You’re fine. If you do get rejected from those schools, it wouldn’t be because of a B. Top-tier schools and Ivies are reaches for everyone.