<p>I am a sophomore in highschool and I haven't made good grades. Out of 16 classes i've gotten 3 B's, a 92 in honors biology freshman year, an 89 in Art 1 (i'm terrible at art), and an 89 in honors physics. I've gotten A's in every class other than that. I only took 1 AP class sophomore year. Does 3 B's mean I have no chance of getting into a top school?</p>
<p>Next year I think I am taking 7 AP classes and senior year I think I am taking 6 ap classes. If I do well in those classes is there any way I can get into a college that's actually good? I don't mean like some college that's alright, I actually mean an ivy league college or a college like Duke? Right now i'm thinking about the University of North Carolina but that's if I get accepted there and not anywhere else that's better. One of my sisters went to Duke and the other went to UNC, could that help my chances of getting in them? </p>
<p>I don't have many volunteer hours yet but I will this summer and I still have yet to get really active in clubs, I joined on but didn't really do much, I guess I am still part of it so I can use it on my application. </p>
<p>When I took the PSAT at the beginning of Sophomore year I got a 188 and I was told that it mean't I would get around a 1880 on the SAT. When I did the PACT I got 96 percentile for my averages. </p>
<p>A handful of Bs won’t necessarily be the death of you, and if you have a strong upward trend from now on, schools will probably be happy with your grades. Bs won’t make it easier for you, though. Ivies get to choose from the very best of the best, which means insane competition.</p>
<p>Also, bear in mind that you don’t have to go to an Ivy to get a fantastic education. There’s plenty of other universities of an equal caliber.</p>
<p>Okay. I have a lot to say. Don’t try to just cram your schedule with APs because you want to make up for your lower GPA. Some “good colleges” won’t even look at you WGPA. Next, 3 B’s won’t kill you, but if you’re getting B’s in classes as easy as art, you are gonna wanna avoid having such a rigorous course load. Also, make sure your taking APs with substance. Ivy leagues don’t want to see a student who’s kinda good at art theory and is okay with bio and decent in ap A&P. They wanna see someone that has focused and really put a lot a work in one general area. Next, when thinking about Ivys, keep in mind that as time goes on, jobs are placing less and less emphasis on going to an ivy school. In fact, a lot, if not most of the schools colleges love to recruit from are state schools, and if you maintain your work, you will have a good shot there. Okay let’s see… EXAMS! Yeah, don’t expect to get into any ultra elite private with a 1880 SAT score (even though the SAT is a whole different ball game than the PSAT). Start right now in a prep course if you can, or get a practice SAT book and take multiple exams. Get as much practice as you can. If you wanna get in an ivy or a school like Stanford or MIT, you wanna aim for at least a 2100 and that’s being VERY generous. In all actuality, you won’t have a good shot at admissions til you get around 2250 or 2300. Which is insane, but that is what they want. Also, start fishing out good ECs. Colleges want to see that you will be an active member of their community and that you will be more than a student who stays in their dorm and studies. It won’t be the most important part of your application, but an incredible ec might be the decision between ACCEPT and REJECT.</p>
<p>Honestly there are so many great schools besides ivy leagues … I would look into really good schools like UNC U of Michigan university of Chicago Emory and so many more </p>
<p>Good luck! Would you mind chancing me for u of Michigan ? Thanks!</p>