<p>How horrible is it to have straight B's as a soph 1st semester...except in one class, speech.</p>
<p>All the more motivation to get straight As for the rest of highschool and ace the SAT.</p>
<p>It depends on your school and your curriculum. At some competitive high schools B’s are a very strong grade; combine that with AP/Honors classes and it is not a bad thing at all. If you are, however, taking a college-prep curriculum at your middle-of-the-road public high school, then it is time to get serious and get those grades up.</p>
<p>I go to one of the better public highschools…i’m in ap bio as well.</p>
<p>Straight Bs are never good.</p>
<p>Did you genuinely put in all your effort? Well, if you didn’t, it’s never too late to learn.</p>
<p>It depends on what your goals are. The higher your grades, the more options you will have. B’s do not mean the end of the world, but you could probably do much better. You’re only a sophomore though, you have time to improve.</p>
<p>I tried hard but it wasn’t consistant/I over analyzed EVERYTHING–even quizes on commas, I need to just trust myself/use logic. I started the semester off poorly–it was hard for me. i was discouraged, stopped trying for some time, tried hard towards middle-end and didn’t make it. (but I did bring a C- in Ap Bio to a solid B!) Looking back, I didn’t really play my cards right…focused way too much time on AP bio than on my other classes, wasn’t fully prepared–i was good enough on my own to get B’s but i didn’t allways put in the extra 10% for the A.</p>
<p>I have so many extra ciriculars–i’m dropping my sports and i’m focusing on doing a few activities well…im in speech and debate, tennis, quit track now, and i founded a nonprofit organization last year. I think this semester things went a little to out of hand with my organization; I couldn’t handle it. </p>
<p>BTW, some advice for other people reading this–one of the number one things i’ve learned about leadership is learning how to delegate duties–have the humility to not do everything on your own. I learned that lesson in a somewhat negative way…</p>
<p>but my unweighted gpa will be probably a 3.6028 by the end of the term. (that’s with 1 B in AP Bio) Also, if i maintain a 4.0 (unweighted gpa) by the end of junior year, I will be at a 3.7 which is good! </p>
<p>I’m a horrible test taker and I have anxiety when I take tests. I’m not going to 2nd guess myself anymore…my grades are off to a good start this semester!</p>
<p>start taking the SAT, if you don’t ask the college board to send your scores to any college, they will not know it …</p>
<p>Okay, everyone who’s telling you that you need to get straight As and that you haven’t been working hard thus far needs to shut up. Getting straight Bs as a sophomore is GOOD. LOTS of people would kill to get straight Bs. Yeah, if you’re a ‘Harvard or bust!’ type person, then that’s horrible, but seriously, people, CHILL OUT. I’ve gotten almost all B’s in high school, with 3 Cs and only a few As, and I got into my #2 school a week after I applied, and I got into my #1 school a month ago. (And these aren’t bad schools–#2 is Oregon State, #1 is the top university in New Zealand.) You can get straight Bs for a lot of high school and get into AMAZING schools.</p>
<p>I agree, straight Bs is not the end of the world. I know it’s hard to digest given that we always hear of students with 4.0 and 5.0s, but that is not the reality for most students. You can get into colleges with a high B average and ultimately be very successful in life.</p>
<p>Remember, its not the college, its what you do with it, that counts.</p>
<p>Hey, I got waaaay worse than that my sophomore year.
Went 3.9 freshman year, then 3.14 my first semester of Junior year. With a C in Algebra. That never looks good on a potential engineering major’s resume.
Pulled it up to a 3.6 second semester, and have kept it as such throughout junior year. Just do better your junior year, I’m aiming for a 3.7 too, and smash the SAT.</p>
<p>Yeah. I was talking to my school district super intendent and he told me that “colleges will see that you are more than a number.” He also offered to write my college rec!</p>
<p>I don’t think I could ever go to Harvard. I think I’d rather shoot myself. I’d really like to go to UCLA though. I’ve seen so many people come out of Harvard and do absolutly nothing productive with their degree. Maybe they get so burnt out that they are just content with doing nothing–I’m not too sure.</p>
<p>I mean I used to have a dream about going to Princeton because it has amazing programs that deal w/the developing world–hands on experiences. I think for me–granted i raise my grades–it is still possible to get in, but even if I don’t, whatever. It’s so random. In the end of the day, it might be better to go to a school where I would be a “big fish in a small pond” and so I can take advantage of the resources I actually have. I honestly believe that to pretty much any school I go to, I’m brining more to the table because of my “real world experiences.” Not many 16 year olds can say they started a jewelry buisness where 100% of profits go towards a fund which helps orphans pursue education/has put about 100 kids from a slum into school. I’m going to be a speaker at a TED conference.</p>
<p>I think it’s mainly about following your heart…it’s not so much about the destination you reach in whatever you do but rather it is the journey itself.</p>
<p>Do they look at your 1st semester senior year grades though?</p>
<p>I think if you are borderline and since most most admission acceptance don’t come out until at least Mid March, they might require you to sens in your senior first semester grade …</p>
<p>Some here amaze me in their answers. Why do so many think that every student can simply try a little harder and get straight A’s? Many kids study their buts of to get straight B’s you know…especially if they have a rigorous schedule.</p>
<p>You don’t need to go to Princeton to volunteer in a third-world country.</p>
<p>Straight B’s will make it difficult to get into UCLA especially if you’re out of state. If you want to improve your odds @ UCLA, up the ante with your SAT.</p>
<p>I’m from California so does that increase my odds?</p>