<p>Hello,
In 9th grade, I received a semester grade of an A-, or a 92%, first semester, honors geometry. I go to a highly advanced high school, and I take six honors classes. I am very involved with clubs, activities, sports, etc. I have not taken the ACT, nor the SAT. I am very hopeful to go to the School of Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania or University of Michigan for business. Both of these universities are highly selective, especially in their business programs. Will this blemish, the "A-", lessen my chances of admittance into either of these universities?
Thank you.
P.S. - I have not received another "A-" since.</p>
<p>I think not.</p>
<p>Wharton: Reach
UMI Ross: Aim for 33+ on the ACT/2200+ on the SAT</p>
<p>Obviously an A- is not going to ruin your academic career, especially not in your 9th year. It’s absurd to think that it would.</p>
<p>An A- will greatly hurt your chances (might make or break your admission). An A is already pushing it; ideally an optimal candidate has nothing but A+'s on his or her transcript. It’s really hard to get into elite-tier colleges with an uncompetitive GPA.</p>
<p>Your extracurriculars, essays, and recs matter a little, but at the end of the day if you have an A- it’s really hard to write that off. When the average Penn applicant has a GPA of 4.23 out of 4.25 on a GPA system that rewards A+'s, having a single A- gives admissions officers a quick excuse to toss your application away without looking through the rest. </p>
<p>Maybe if your SAT score is between 2380-2400, or if you score a 36 on the ACT, you’ll still have a shot. I would start preparing if I were you.</p>
<p>/thread ^…</p>
<p>An A- shouldn’t break your application. I can’t tell if you’re a senior or not, but if not, just keep getting A’s. Either way, bear in mind that Wharton is extremely selective. Everybody knows how great it is, and it attracts extremely high quality individuals. As a result of having few slots for many applicants, one’s chances of rejection, even with an excellent application (perfect grades, great test scores, great ECs) are low, because everybody else has those things too…and a Nobel Prize or 2.</p>
<p>Still–good luck!</p>