<p>Hello,
So my high school basically gives out grades up to third quarter, due to the fact that 4th quarter is just spent reviewing for AP exams. I asked my teachers, and it looks like I'll end the school year with a B+ in bc calculus, and A-'s in 3 of my other Ap classes. This was mainly due to the fact that I had a hard time concentrating first semester due to the death of a close friend. This is compounded by the fact that I got 4 B's in middle school (in high school-level classes). My school is pretty competitive, and I know that I probably won't get into the top 5%, and top 10% is a stretch. I just want to know how much my chances will be damaged by my bad grades. I mean, 3 A-'s and a B+ looks really bad on a transcript! My guidance councilor promised me that she would send a letter to my colleges, but I doubt that they will consider me after I bombed my AP classes. I did very well my second semester and got all A's, but my first semester grades are really bringing me down. I've been told that my low class rank shouldn't matter all that much because my colleges won't care about my middle school grades. How much will my bad junior year grades hurt me when I'm applying to Ivy League colleges?</p>
<p>What matters for the Ivies is a combination of high SATs, overall excellent grades, class rankings and high achievements in your ECs. A slightly lower gpa in one semester by itself isn’t going to sink your chances. What’s likely to sink your chances is the same thing that sinks thousands of other candidates: a huge pool of highly qualified students for too few spots. In other words, by and large, getting into the Ivies is a bit of a crap shoot even if you have straight As. </p>
<p>Oh, and the Ivies don’t care about middle school grades. Some don’t even look at 9th grade.</p>
<p>An upward trend is helpful, so if you do well next year, that will be a positive influence. Remember you also need great essays and solid recommendations. My son was not in top 10% and had a weak freshman year. He was not a straight A student, but he had really unusual ECs, a great essay, took the most challenging classes available ( and got As and Bs)and demonstrated a great fit. He got into an ivy this year.</p>
<p>Many put too much weight in their class rank, test scores, etc. Ivied need students that can do the work. I don’t know what that threshold is. But once you are past that, then they look for students who will round out the class and provide diversity of all kinds. Need so many athletes, oboe players, robotics team members, people from Arkansas,etc. They choose looking at all of those things. Good luck</p>
<p>It’s not the grade, it’s the rank. Ivies will be all but impossible if you’re not top 10% and improbable if you’re not top 5% unless you attend a truly competitive school (average SAT over 2000) unless you are an impact athlete.</p>
<p>Well the thing is, without my 4 B’s in middle school, I would be top 5 in my grade, not just top 5%. Those middle school grades really brought me down, but I’m not too worried about those because colleges don’t pay much attention to middle school grades. What worries me is the fact that I’ve been getting straight A’s since freshman year, and during Junior year (which is the most important year) there is a negative trend and huge drop in my first semester grades that will result in bad final grades.</p>
<p>Why does your middle school grades count within your high school gpa?</p>
<p>"I’m not too worried about those because colleges don’t pay much attention to middle school grades. "</p>
<p>You’re incorrect. They pay NO attention to mid school grades whatsoever.</p>
<p>Are you international? No US high school that I know of figures middle school grades into class rank.</p>
<p>My kid got into an ivy without a top 10% class rank but had taken all AP classes ( which dropped his UW rank) and he had a fantastic essay.</p>
<p>In our school district, if you take high school level courses (advanced level of a foreign language or math, for example) it is included in your high school GPA calculation. </p>
<p>That said, if you are fixated on “Ivies” then the best thing you can do for yourself is to get over it. There are dozens of excellent schools - all highly selective - that are not Ivy. A few Bs in high school level courses taken in middle school, a bad semester due to a friend’s death, etc…will not keep you out of one of these excellent schools if you choose wisely. It probably won’t keep you out of the mythical Ivy either if everything else lines up - but why do that to yourself?</p>
<p>My school system includes several middle school classes for our GPA and rank (mostly advanced classes but one class everyone took and got credit for). So while the colleges wouldn’t care about the middle school grades whatsoever, they also aren’t going to recalculate your GPA and rank to reflect solely high school grades. So if those middle school grades have brought down your rank, you may be out of luck there.</p>
<p>Oh, and I agree with @M’s Mom about not focusing on Ivies. There are so many great schools out there which may fit you better and may ne more likely for you to gain admittance. Start looking now so that next year you will have a balanced list and won’t end up without acceptances because you applied to only selective and safety schools.</p>
<p>Maybe your guidance counselor can include a note in your application that you would be in the top 5 disregarding middle school grades… But how do you know that for sure? What about all the kids ahead of you who also don’t have middle school grades?</p>
<p>As said before top 10% is generally a requirement in getting into any ivy but unless you have hook, you would need some pretty great essays, recommendations and above average ECs to back you up.</p>