Too many B's?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
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<p>(Cross-posted at the College Admissions forum as well)</p>

<p>Hey guys...are 9 B's (including freshman year) too many for Stanford? I got 2 B's freshman year, and 7 B's this year (sophomore year).</p>

<p>Sophomore year: I got B's in AP Bio (double period...my doom), precalculus with analysis raised a level (this is like honors honors precalculus, hardest math course in the school), and B in one semester of chemistry (honors).</p>

<p>Ugh...how does this affect my chances? If I get 4.0 junior year and 4.0 senior year? </p>

<p>I read that Stanford doesn't like too many B's...:/</p>

<p>I'm determined to get perfect grades junior year and senior year first quarter and will apply to Stanford regular decision (rather than SCEA) so I can bump my GPA up.</p>

<p>Since they won't look at my freshman grades, they'll just see an upward trend, assuming I get 4.0 junior and senior year, no?</p>

<p>How does 3.82 unweighted and 4.75 weighted look? I've seen Stanford admit stats, and all the 3.9's and 4.0's are intimidating...</p>

<p>I'm taking (or should I say, took) the most rigorous course schedule of all the sophomores in the school. My high school is one of, if not the most, competitive public (non-magnet and non-IB) high school in Maryland, and sent 2 seniors to Stanford (one athletic recruit I'm sure, and this other girl I don't know). Junior year I will be taking 5 AP's and 3 honors/advanced level courses, one of the most difficult course schedules as well.</p>

<p>Surely Stanford will take in consideration the high school I go to and the rigor and difficulty of my courses? I know I can't afford to get any more B's in order to remain competitive, GPA-speaking, at least.</p>

<p>Any input would be greatly appreciated!</p>

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<p>Also, would a high SAT (2300+) compensate for my low GPA? (low for Stanford, at least) If not, could you suggest anything I can do to make up for the 3.82 uw GPA that will compete against millions of 3.9's and 4.0's...</p>

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<p>would those be 8 B's from semester grades? I really can't help you on this one though :(.</p>

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<p>I really don't like being the bearer of bad news, but your chances are significantly lowered with those 9 B's... a 2300+ on your SAT will not do any good, since the SAT measures intelligence, whereas GPA reflects on your overall academic ability (which requies more than pure brain power). The fact that you received those grades in hard courses helps a little, but not nearly enough... 7 B's in one year is just way way too much.</p>

<p>Yes, if you get 4.0's in Junior and Senior year (or at least an A- average) in tough classes including a significant number of AP's, your bad sophomore record will be eclipsed - showing an upward trend is always taken well by adcoms. But (again, not to sound too harsh) the chances you'll get 4.0's or anything close in even more difficult years (you think sophomore year was hard? think again) don't seem too great if you didn't manage to get a good record during your sophomore year.</p>

<p>So just do your best and let the chips fall where they may.</p>

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<p>orrican: I have 9 B's so far, but Stanford doesn't take freshman year into consideration. So...just 7 <em>wince</em></p>

<p>I know it will be a challenge junior year and senior year to get 4.0, but I've got a taste of how to handle a rigorous AP courseload from this year (took 3 APs). Thank you for your warning, but I already know what's at stake.</p>

<p>I think you're not looking at the whole picture, which I can understand because you don't know my school (academic reputation) or how my schedule compares to the rest of my peers, but...objectively speaking, yes, I am painfully aware of how bad these 7 B's (5 B's but AP bio is double period, so 7).</p>

<p>Despite your doubts that I can't realistically achieve a 4.0 junior and senior year, humor me a little and assume I will have a 3.82 uw and 4.75 w GPA by first quarter senior year. A 3.82 uw surely will not look TOO bad, will it? Especially next to a 4.75 weighted. That 4.75 will land me in the top 10% for sure, at least.</p>

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<p>I had 4 sophomore year and 1 junior year and was accepted.</p>

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<p>paco,
If you get those GPA values, you'll raise your chances considerably.
All I can say is good luck...</p>

<p>Btw,
Are you by any chance a URM? (black or hispanic)</p>

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<p>Stanford doesn't look at Freshman grades?</p>

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<p>No. (10 char)</p>

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<p>No, I'm an ORM.</p>

<p>My username Paco! is actually derived from a Ladytron song.</p>

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<p>stambliark, do you mean you got 2 b's per semester? Or 4 b's per semester</p>

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<p>1st Semester Soph: A/A/A/B/B
2nd Semester Soph: A/A/A/B+/B+
1st Semester Jr: A/A/A/A/B
2nd Semester Jr: A/A/A/A/A</p>

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<p>Wow, only 5 classes, stambliark41.</p>

<p>Last year I took 7 classes.</p>

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<p>no, wait-- you got in without getting A+'s, stambliark, or was it that your school doesn't even offer A+s? I was just wondering what the leeway was. thank you.</p>

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<p>stambliark's just amazing. That's basically all the explanation there is. :] lol. Seriously though, he was one of those omg-this-person-will-change-the-world, superstar, auto-admit times types.</p>

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<p>That's too many B's.
Other students in your school will less B's and decent SATs are more likely to get in, unless you have something special.</p>

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<p>Frosh 1 Sem-All/Mostly B's
Frosh 2 Sem-All/Mostly B's
Soph 1 Sem-All/ Mostly B's
Soph Sem-All A's, 1 A-
Jun 1 Sem-All A's 1 A-
Jun 2 Sem- Havn't gotten grades back yet, but I think all A's but maybe 2 B's.</p>

<p>Last I checked I was 18 out of 365. Or something close-Top 5 or 6%</p>

<p>All my classes were Honors, most were AP. (I took/am taking the most Ap classes in my school)</p>

<p>I'm worried that I may get 2 B's because they will screw up the "started bad, but went straight to a 4.0" felling I'm trying to convey.</p>

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<p>Forget about frosh, it isn't counted.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Also, would a high SAT (2300+) compensate for my low GPA? (low for Stanford, at least) If not, could you suggest anything I can do to make up for the 3.82 uw GPA that will compete against millions of 3.9's and 4.0's...

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Remember that the average last year was 3.9. People with less than 3.9 were bringing down the 4.0s. </p>

<p>Also remember that high SAT scores can't compsenate for 'low' GPAs (yours is decent). Why? Cuz there are 2300+ scorers with 4.0s. Why make the choice?</p>

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<p>

That's not very true. Yes they look at both your SAT and your GPA but you don't need to get a 2300 to get into Stanford. I got in with a 2160 and my friend with a 2220 and there were others who had higher SAT scores that didn't get in.</p>

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<p>^Please don't put words in my mouth, so to speak. My friend had 1290/1600 and got in, and the common data set also informs me of the wide range. It's insulting to me that you'd assume I'd even say something like that--I realize that there's no 'SAT cutoff'.</p>

<p>All I'm saying is it doesn't matter if you have low GPA but a high SAT unless you really stand out, because there are students with high GPAs and high SATs. That's all.</p>