Senior Freaking Out -- need advice.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>This is not my fault, but I cant really present this to an adcom without it sounding childish. What should I do?</p>

<p>Check out my grades:
9th A,A,A,A,A,A-(in history) 1AP this year AP Physics 5
10th A,A,A,A,A,A 2APs this year Euro/Calc AB 5 5
11th A,A,A,A,A-,B+ 3APs this year Amer/Calc BC/Chem 5 5 5
the A- was Spanish 4 honors, the B+ was APUSH</p>

<p>What I need to somehow explain away is this downward trend :(
What happened was the school, before JUNIOR year, decided to send out a survey to all of the parents asking what they thought needed to be improved as a school (I go to a private school so this stuff is important for marketing) most of the parents who responded said that the difficulty of the curriculum needed to be increased. Instead of making classes which are already difficult even harder, the school decided to deflate grades. They told teachers to give fewer As and A-s and more Bs to make it seem harder. This came at the most inconvenient time because I had established an impeccable track record of success and right when it matters the most for me they deflate grades making me look terrible to colleges. The colleges I want to go to are very selective (I have the SAT score to go 2320 w/ 800 math) but I am afraid at how they might view this information (my first choice is Columbia). Is there any way in particular that I could relay this to an adcom without sounding childish/whiny. Do these grades completely take me out of the running for Columbia? Thanks so much, Mr.HS</p>

2

<p>^Really man, was this thread necessary? You have all A’s and 1 B, you got nothing to worry about unless your class rank is low…</p>

3

<p>^^agreed. One B will hardly take you out of the running. You’re still very competitive, grade-wise.</p>

4

<p>One B+ is a downward trend…you gotta be kidding me. Take a breath; go walk around the block. You are fine.</p>

5

<p>How can you get basically straight A’s throughout high school and still make such a stupid post. Come on, use some common sense, “explain to Adcoms the downward trend” Seriously? Or were you just looking to get some praise from us for your grades?</p>

6

<p>Four things:</p>

<p>1- you are in good shape; competitive for the schools you are interested in</p>

<p>2- that said, those schools say no to 3/4 of the Valedictorians and those w/any 800s; in other words, lots of other folks like you apply there</p>

<p>3- appearing to be grade obsessed may hurt you; so, write about some passion that isn’t obsessing over a “starts with a B” grade</p>

<p>4- since most people with your stats get rejected from the HYPed schools . . what are your “safeties?”</p>

7

<p>Ok – Im not looking for praise for my grades, however, I am slightly obsessed with my grades. Maybe because it is the first B ever, Im not sure. For some reason I was living under the misconception that every Ivy applicant had all As (atleast this is what my parents tell me) and that a B junior year could put me out of contention. I had a feeling that I would be okay, but I am really stressed out right now and needed someone else to tell me the same thing. Safeties – Case Western, U of Rochester. In my book, there is no need for many many safeties, 2 is plenty. I’m sure I’ll get in and I’ll be perfectly content going to either. </p>

<p>So you don’t think I should even mention the slight regression in my grade trend?</p>

8

<p>You’re obsessed with your grades? Really? I couldn’t tell.
/sarcasm</p>

<p>Ivies are far more holistic than that. One B won’t come close to sinking you, unless you have absolutely nothing else in your profile, in which case you would not get in anyways. And do not try and explain away this; it’s far too minor, and will likely harm you as they will see you as OCD over a minor setback. Keep calm and carry on.</p>