Hey guys I have this serious question regarding to my grade in school and my background.
I am a very,very hard worker in all of my classes. And I am a Asian girl who though ‘hey why not challenge yourself and take AP LANG?’ So I did… And although I’m trying my best to end the class with at least a A- it is really hard to do with bad grades that my teacher is handing out to me on my papers. They are mostly due to grammatical mistakes and phrasing mistakes. Is there anyway that college admissions can know about my background for this? Because I don’t want them to think I was a slacker and a bad student (academically) when it is actually my background that’s holding me back from good grades… Thank you so much for the help!
Well, this is the kind of case in which you might consider asking your Lang teacher for a rec letter. If he or she is aware of your impressive work ethic and is willing to write about it in the letter, it may make that potential B+ look a lot more like an A-.
And I think you did the right thing by challenging yourself with AP Lang–the skills that test requires will serve you well.
@marvin100 You may be assuming facts not in evidence, since OP did not specify the grades, but anyone who considers a B+ a “bad” grade needs a reality check.
Yes, but realize that colleges in the US expect you to be proficient in English; it is, after all, the language of instruction. Your teacher is doing you a service by helping you correct your errors, and I hope you realize that you should not gain a higher grade just because you are a “hard worker.”
Sure, @skieurope , that’s fair–I admit I assumed that a student hoping for an A- probably got a B+ and that assumption certainly may be wrong.
As for whether a B+ is “bad” or not, well, I’m not sure how you could imagine that as anything other than relative. I know a lot of students for whom it would be pretty bad, and when I was in high school, I was definitely not pleased with B+ grades. Maybe more importantly, adcomms at super-selective colleges aren’t exactly stoked about B+ grades, either.
How long has it been since you exited from the ESOL program at your school? If it has been less than five years, many places that you apply to will require the TOEFL. If you submit a TOEFL score, it will be obvious to the places where you apply that English is not your first language. The admissions offices will evaluate your grades taking that into account.
Personally, I don’t think that that the odd B+ is exactly a death knell, and, while I’m all for honesty, I’m not entirely convinced that telling kids who are super freaked-out as it is, that an all A transcript is needed to enter the ivory towers. As you well know, these “super-selective” colleges are evaluating transcripts as only a part of the overall application. @marvin100
@skieurope - certainly transcripts are just one part of the application; that’s not in question here.
But look at some average GPAs:
UChicago: 4.16
UPenn: 3.94
UC Berkeley: 3.85
Princeton: 3.91
Note that these average GPAs for entering first-years don’t leave a lot of room for B’s.
I don’t want anyone to be “freaked out” and a B+ is certainly not a “death knell.” After all, the top-20 schools aren’t the be-all-end-all–there are hundreds of great colleges in the US! But the reality is that if a student is highly desirous of attending one of the “big names” for whatever reason (and there are plenty of good reasons that don’t hinge on prestige alone), it’s incumbent on him or her to try as hard as possible to get A’s. And when we try as hard as possible to get something and fall short, it’s pretty natural to be disappointed.
I also stand by my advice. I believe pushing for the harder and more rewarding AP Lang class was a good choice, even if it resulted in a “disappointing” grade (by the OP’s standards), and if the OP really worked that hard (and I have no reason to doubt it), then the teacher may well be impressed enough to write a glowing rec letter. I’ve seen this happen before and it’s worked out really well. When I taught in a high school, in fact, I myself often wrote glowing reviews of kids who may not have been top performers in my class but stood out in their effort/improvement/curiosity/potential/attitude/etc.
Not really sure why my comments are pushing your buttons, but they’re not remotely unreasonable and are meant to help the OP and others in the same boat who may be reading now or in the future.
In fact, if the OP got a lowish grade but has a glowing recommendation from that teacher, it’ll annul /offset the grade for adcoms. Colleges would rather have students who take risks out of a desire to learn, than students who choose the safest route to an A.
Obviously the number of B’s has to be limited for Top 25 universities /LACs, and no more than one Class will be acceptable (typically with the gc explaining some sort of extenuating circumstance).
They’re not; I don’t think we are saying different things. @marvin100
Ah, okay, that makes more sense, @skieurope . Cheers.
To the OP: definitely check this requirement for each school you’re applying to. TOEFL requirements vary dramatically (some schools don’t require TOEFL if you have a 650 on the verbal section of the SAT, for example).
I’m pretty sure if the adcoms really cared so much about one B, they would be able to make the connection that English was your second language and AP lang would naturally be a difficult class for you since you put your languages on your demographic info.
Honestly, I think it’s impressive that you got a B+ in AP lang as a non- native speaker. Many native speakers even have difficulty getting that grade.
I was actually thinking about saying this earlier, but I decided against it. However, since someone else brought it up, I totally concur. If A’s are being given out like candy in an AP Lang class that is taught in a foreign country, that speaks more to grade inflation that the skill set of a student, IMO.
Thirded.