Screwed Up In One Class

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello,
My son is an A and B student with mostly A's. He has a 3.5 unweighted GPA and 4.26 weighted.
His freshmen year he took all honors classes except English. In that English class he received an A. However, the next year he wanted more of a challenge so he decided to take all Honors classes. In his Sophomore year, Honors English class he got a B-. </p>

<p>He wants to go to a Prestigious/Ivy College and wants to know if it is still possible and would it be better for him to drop Honors English for next year if he knows he will be able to get an A easily or will that be bad to switch from Honors to Regular?</p>

2

<p>Colleges would look much more favorably on a B- in Honors than an A in regular, because it shows that he is challenging himself. Keep Honors.</p>

3

<p>Wait, how does he only have a 3.5 unweighted if he has mostly 'A’s?</p>

4

<p>Realistically, your son won’t get into a college as selective as the Ivies if he doesn’t take the highest level of English (also science, math, foreign language and social studies) that his high school offers.</p>

<p>Realistically, it probably also takes more than a 3.5 UW GPA, unless 3.5 makes him one of the top few students in his graduating class.</p>

5

<p>It makes him ranked in the top 25 in his class. And next year he will bring it up to at least a 3.6.</p>

6

<p>Lots of students at HYPMS have received Bs and even (gasp) a C. One B doesn’t mean anything. Once he’s in the ballpark in terms of GPA and test scores, other factors become more important - like how he differentiates himself from all the other high GPA and test score kids.</p>