<p>Throughout high school, I've been a straight A student. However, I will have 1 B in my senior midyear grades.</p>
<p>I'm wondering if I should send my midyear grades to colleges that do not require them. Sending them will show interest (which I think is very important), but it will also show them that B. Yes, I know it's only one B, but given that I'm applying to highly selective schools and that my previous grades throughout high school have been all A's, is there any point in sending my midyear? Some sources have told me that it could only hurt me and that it would not be worth it just to show interest.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think it is pretty much standard, but there are a few that still don’t. In case you’re worried that you and I have different definitions of highly selective, I will let you know that the colleges I am referring to have acceptance rates that are less than 15%.</p>
<p>Alright, so which highly selective schools are you talking about that don’t require midyear grades? Having that information would help to answer your question. There’s no reason to keep it a secret.</p>
The better question is what’s the point of NOT sending them? You got your first B. Reality check - that won’t be the thing that keeps you out of highly selective colleges. Breathe…</p>
<p>Before sending, you need to check each college’s rule. There are a number of colleges, like the UCs, which tell you not to send them because they don’t want them unless they make a speicifc request to you to provide them. If sent, those who actually make admission decisions will not see them so it is useless to send them. The majority of public universities follow that no mid-year grades rule, as do many private universities. Most high ranked privates require mid-year grades, but there are exceptions, e.g., for USC they are optional. If the colleges say it is optional, I would probably send them because the B is not going to make any difference for those optional colleges and the A’s will show you are not slacking off.</p>
<p>I think I should tell you all that I actually have already sent my first quarter grades (which were all A’s) to these highly selective colleges. However, the question at hand is whether or not I should be sending the midyear grades (which are a combination of the first and second quarter grades).</p>
<p>Here are the two benefits of sending my midyear grades:
It shows interest
They know I haven’t slacked off since I am currently taking 5 AP courses (and the B that I have is in one of these AP courses)</p>
<p>The downside:
It is a B. Yes, I know that many say that, if I were denied, it wouldn’t be because of that 1 B, but considering that I’ve already sent my first quarter grades (which were all A’s), sending my midyear grades may only hurt. Then again, sending my midyear grades shows that I still maintained my work ethic after first quarter.</p>
<p>After your counselor uploads your mid-year report to the Common App, how will you prevent the Comm App from sending it on to all of your Comm App schools?</p>
<p>If it’s not asked for and required, I wouldn’t provide it. Neither Vanderbilt nor UNC consider the level of applicant’s interest in the admissions decision.</p>
<p>SoCalDad2,
I’m not exactly sure how the whole system works. I only know that my school has the ability to pick and choose which schools receive the midyear grades.</p>
<p>MiddKid86,
I find it hard to believe that sending my midyear grades when not required (a sign of showing interest) would not have some slight bearing on my admissions decisions, especially considering that I am a borderline applicant. And like I said earlier, sending the midyears does not merely show interest; it also shows how I’ve been taking 5 AP courses. I’m still undecided on whether or not to send them though because of that B.</p>
<p>You said that I shouldn’t send them if it’s not required, but let’s say that, hypothetically speaking, Vanderbilt and UNC did consider the level of applicant’s interest in the admissions decision. Would your opinion change then?</p>
<p>These schools already know that you’re taking five AP classes because they have your first quarter grades, right? And you don’t have to get into hypotheticals - for a fact, neither Vanderbilt nor UNC consider the level of applicant’s interest in the admissions decision.</p>
<p>From what I’ve read on this thread, it seems that it would be best not to send the midyear grades primarily because of the fact that the first quarter grades already have been sent.</p>
<p>MiddKid86,
I’m not doubting you or anything, but where did you find out that Vanderbilt and UNC do not consider an applicant’s level of interest?</p>
<p>My opinion is that you don’t send them. I might get anywhere from 0-3 B’s (8 AP classes this year), and if I get 1+, I’m not sending; they have my transcript, so they know I’m taking the AP classes for rigor. (I’m applying to Vandy and UNC CH among other schools.)</p>
<p>Another question. I applied to UNC long after the first quarter ended, so I never requested for my first quarter grades (which were all A’s) to be sent. If I choose to send those first quarter grades now and choose not to send my midyear grades (which has 1 B), will UNC think that it is odd that a student has sent first quarter grades long after first quarter ended but not midyear grades?</p>