<p>Consider this scenario.</p>
<p>A student gets two B's freshman year. From 10th grade onward, he maintains a 4.0 GPA and also takes classes independently (community college, online, etc.) which he also earns 4.0s on. Because of those two B's freshman year, this student is at the lower end of the top 10% of his class. Does this student have a very low chance at a school like Harvard or Stanford because of those two B's and what they did to his class rank?</p>
<p>No, this student has absolutely no chance at Harvard or Stanford. Frankly, I’m surprised by your question. I thought every self-respecting high school student knew that nobody at Harvard or Stanford (or even Yale!) has ever received a B. Never ever.</p>
<p>I would advise this student to redirect his attention to more realistic targets, like Boston U or Pepperdine.</p>
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<p>Haha. Ya know, I was really being serious. :)</p>
<p>I mean, if these schools have student bodies with kids who are overwhelmingly in the top 5% of their class, and many of whom were Valedictorians and Salutatorians, wouldn’t it hurt significantly?</p>
<p>Stanford doesn’t consider freshman grades.</p>
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<p>Yeah, that’s true, but they still affect class rank. If one is at the bottom of that 10% strictly because of those two B’s freshman year, will they pay less attention to the rank?</p>
<p>My unweighted GPA at the end of high school was somewhere around 3.9.
Just because half of Harvard had a 4.0 unweighted in high school doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get in with anything lower. While I was in the top 10 in the class (out of 350 or so) in weighted GPA, I still got in while other kids ranked higher than me did not.</p>
<p>What is a Salutatorian?</p>
<p>^ The second highest graduate.</p>
<p>Two B’s will affect your rank. However, Stanford (and some other schools including Pton) will recalculate your GPA from sophomore, junior, and first semester senior grades. Two B’s does not eliminate you from the competition, but certainly you will be disadvantaged in terms of class rank. For Harvard, your GPA will also reflect the two 3.0’s. </p>
<p>What year are you in high school? An upward grade trend is better than a downward grade trend (4.0, then getting B’s in junior year) so focus on what you can control.</p>
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<p>Alright, so let’s eliminate the hypothetical and assume the person being referred to is me (which it is, btw). :)</p>
<p>I’m a rising junior. I’m currently at the lower end of that 10% (around 8%) of my class because of those two B’s. I got a 4.0 for sophomore year and took two college courses independently this summer, earning a 4.0 in both of those (they will go on my HS transcript). This year, I’m taking the most rigorous course-load offered at my public HS (three AP classes) but, even if I got a 4.0 for junior year, I doubt my rank would change, since almost all the kids above me opted to also take 3 AP’s this year.</p>
<p>It’s just really frustrating because I don’t want 2 freshman B’s to do me in… that would be ridiculous. I’m certainly not getting any more B’s these year, that’s for sure. But my HS is not what CC’ers would consider a very competitive one, so it’ll probably look bad that I’m not in the top 5%.</p>
<p>i knwo this is your thread, decrescendo, but I have a question that’s eating away at me. Do the rigor of your courses count when schools consider rank. Like, if someone where to take all regular classes and get a 4.0 and someone else were to take all APs and get a 3.5. Who would be ranked higher?</p>
<p>Decrescendo; colleges get sent your high school profile, so they know where you are coming from in terms of course offerings and rigor. 2 Bs do not reflect poorly if you maintained perfect grades throughout. You’re just a Junior, so you have plenty of time to “impress” colleges. Study hard for your SATs and write kick ass essays. What kind of ECs are you involved in?</p>
<p>Davidoga; AP grades get weighted, so if the student were to get all As in their APs, odds are they’d have a higher GPA than the person who took regular classes. However, if the person with all APs got a 3.5 and the person with regular classes pulled off a 4.0, both GPA being weighted, then the person with the regular classes would be ranked higher.</p>
<p>I mean like, if the kid who took all APs got all As that year, but his high school GPa was still 3.5</p>
<p>If it’s between a 3.5 and a 4.0, the 4.0 would be ranked higher.</p>
<p>That school sounds pretty competitive… Is it a prestigious boarding school?</p>
<p>That’s strange - if you took independent college classes, your college GPA and your high school GPA should balance out. Stanford and Harvard will see BOTH transcripts. Or so I’m told. If you got A’s in your college classes, they should balance out your B’s from high school. I mean… that’s what I’m doing. I got two B’s freshman year too, but I was told that I could balance out my GPA if I got A’s in a college class over the summer…</p>
<p>^ If your school calculates CC classes on a 5.0 scale, then yes your GPA will balance out. That said, the B’s on your transcript are still there. Say you got the B’s in precalc and bio. If you can handle it, you should make sure to take AP Calc BC and AP bio (and get A’s of course) to redeem yourself. This applies to CC courses as well. The imperative here is “if you can handle it.” It not, breathe, go outside and take a walk, and don’t stress about it. You can’t change what’s done, so just do well from here on out.</p>
<p>Well I think the out-of-school classes (online classes, dual enrollment) would almost cancel out those two B’s, because not everyone takes them, therefore increasing your rank.</p>
<p>Just want to add that adcoms are familiar with fluff classes taken online/at CCs with the motive of gaming class rank. It could potentially hurt your app if they see something like “Child Development” on your transcript when you’ve shown no previous interest in child development. It’d be a clear GPA-booster, and no would not be a positive reflection of your commitment to academic learning and quality.</p>
<p>This is what happened to me, I would also like to know how it would affect me. However, I don’t have class rank.</p>