Will 3 B's as a Frosh Destroy Chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I think I am going to get three B’s as a freshman; French II, World History Honors, and Dual Enrolled Drafting/ Intro. to Eng. Design.

I have done extra credit in French, and if my teacher doesn’t include that in the reported final average for quarters and semester, I 'll likely get an A, however, it’s pretty ambiguous. I have an 89 for the year in World History, and I with only two weeks left in school, I am terrified it won’t go up. I am worried for Drafting, since I got a 78 1st semester and will not be able to do enough extra credit to raise my grade (he gives out some EC, but he rarely gives out 100’s, typically only 95’s).

Schedule:
English 9 Honors
World History Honors
Art II (skipped Art I)
Health/PE 9
DE Drafting
Earth Science Honors
Geometry Honors
French II

My school only puts final grades on transcripts, only calculates rank for seniors and juniors, and has no plus or minus on letters. My family isn’t that well off financially with 3 kids, even with my father just hitting a six figure salary, and a mother with a low-paying job. I am the youngest, and one sibling has a genetic disorder, the other diagnosed with major depressive disorder (recovered then relapsed - took me on the same emotional roller coaster).

I am in LD debate (doing poorly), elected secretary in National Art Honor Society for next year, planning on joining DECA next year, and planning on getting a work permit and a job over the summer, as well as volunteer and host an independent charity event. I am considering setting up a blog where I write about random things, mainly on social justice, environment/global warming, etc. I plan on studying for the PSAT/SAT/NMSQT between freshman/sophomore and sophomore/junior year, the AMC, improve in debate (no debate camp, $ issues).

My sophomore year is currently scheduled as:
English 10 Honors
AP European History
Fashion Marketing (I am in fact, interested in it, and need it to join DECA)
Driver’s Ed/PE
Biology Honors
Chemistry Honors
Algebra II Honors
French III

I am trying to find a way to take Driver’s Ed/ Health over the summer, but I’m having trouble finding the means. If I find a way to get my parents to pay the fees and such, I’ll probably take Art in place of it, but I’m considering trying to take Physics or Trig/Pre-Calc (both unlikely) in place of it

I intend to take AP Bio as a junior (2 period), APUSH, skip Trig/ Pre-Calc for AP Calc AB, take Econ/ Personal Finance over the summer if I can convince my parents to pay the 300 dollar fee, French IV, AP English, and Physics Honors. As a senior I think I will take AP Gov, AP Chem (2 period), AP Physics (2 period), AP Calc BC, and AP English. I am considering taking extra online classes after school if necessary to try and balance out the B in Drafting, and the potential ones in French and History.

So my question is: Will these Bs hurt my chances at all if everything goes as I planned? Will taking extra classes hurt my weighted GPA a lot, and is it worth trying to balance out my unweighted? My school ranges from the really competitive to slacker’s - however our graduation rate last year was ~98%. Is trying to take Econ and Driver’s Ed over the summer worth it, even with around 500 dollars that could be tuition money? I was originally shooting for Harvard, but I researched and didn’t like the culture, so now I’m thinking Yale, Princeton and Stanford (b/c they seem to not weigh frosh grades as much). I think I will major in a humanities, however I’m considering the sciences (almost def. not Technology/Engineering/Mathematics - Drafting convinced me of that). What are the chances the stress make me explode?

Side note: Drafting put an enormous amount of stress on me, and I feel like it helped bring my other grades down. Should I get my guidance counselor to explain that, or the depressed sibling, especially with the whole negative stigma it has with colleges? Also, Drafting was really drawing a whole lot, and rarely any written tests or assignments. Would colleges know that, especially since it’s DE, and take that into account, instead of taking it like another elective, like Health and Med Sciences, which is not a hard class (friends take it) and you can actually study to improve?

2

if youre still a freshman it’s okay, but make sure from now on if you want to get into princeton or stanford you take the hardest classes you can and get all As

3

@babachicken Would you say that if everything were to go as I planned I would have a decent chance? The classes I am planning to take are considered some of the most rigorous ones available.

4

sure. but just remember that its hard for ANYONE to get into the ivys…

so when you apply just realize that you probably have the same chance as some 4.0 students if you were to get all As from now

5

Start working on your essays - those will be important. Honestly, your post made me a little depressed when I read it. Make sure that tone doesn’t creep in. Buck up! You’re a smart and accomplished kid! Good luck.

6

Good news! I now have a 90 in History, so I’ll only have 2 B’s for the year at most.

@babahicken Obviously I know that it’s hard to get into the Ivy League’s, but would I be at a disadvantage, minimal or not, with the B’s on my transcript? Would those B’s ever be a dealbreaker for college admissions?

@NavalTradition Thanks, but I haven’t taken any more challenging classes, not to mention you didn’t really answer my question.

What about mental illness and the fact that I may not have all A’s from now on?

7

Those B’s are not a dealbreaker.

The reason I didn’t answer your question directly is because there is no good answer to give. Ivy league admissions are a crapshoot for anyone - even the 4.0/2400 crowd. There’s just really no telling especially this far out; but your chances are by no means destroyed.

BTW: Stanford and a few other schools don’t even consider 9th grade marks.

It’s risky to mention mental illness on a college app, as colleges are paranoid about having suicides on their campuses. I would tread very carefully and not mention it at all, unless you have a very compelling and unique story; even then, probably not.

8

@NavalTradition I know that the Ivy’s are pretty weird about admittees… Are you sure about Stanford? What about Yale or Harvard/Ivy/HYPSM as a whole?

9

I never planned on mentioning mental illness… What about a sibling with Down’s?

10

http://admission.stanford.edu/application/freshman/transcripts.html

“We will focus our evaluation on your coursework and performance in 10th, 11th and 12th grades, primarily in the core academic subjects of English, mathematics, science, foreign language and history/social studies. We want to see that you have challenged yourself by taking accelerated, honors, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses if they are offered at your school.”

I don’t believe the same is true of the rest of HYPSM. That being said, I got into H with some freshman year C’s, although that was some years back now.

11

Sibling with Down’s is a totally different story. You should mention that and have your GC mention that, yes!

12

@NavalTradition Thanks a bunch! And Congrats on the Harvard acceptance!.. If it isn’t too late to congratulate you.

13

It’s too late, but thanks. :slight_smile:

14

@NavalTradition Haha, your welcome. It’s pretty exciting to say I know someone who got in to Harvard, even online… However, I admit, I don’t talk about my sibling much, so do you have any idea how I would include that or bring it up to m guidance counselor? Also, I was thinking about writing my essay on those B’s I got freshman year, and how it taught me to learn from my mistakes to overcome failure… Possibly including something about how it would make me a better candidate over someone else with tip-top grades because they’ll never truly know what ‘failure’ is like… Would it be better to talk about how much I enjoyed learning and reading Nat Geographic, my sibling, or why tying rubber bands around my fingers got me interested in something I had no idea existed (bloodstream), etc?

15

Just consider that the adcom is made up of humans. Humans want to read something interesting. Unless you motivate it extemely well, an essay on 3 freshman B’s is just going to be inherently less readable than an essay on National Geographics, your sibling, or rubber bands. I think all of those ideas are spectacular.

16

@NavalTradition What if I make it dramatic and talk from a freshman POV lamenting about how my world would end if I didn’t pull up my grades, then go on to discuss how I learned how to deal with my mistakes earlier, and would be better equipped to handle it vs. someone with tip-top grades and did so because they were ‘afraid to fail’, as I’ve seen some people put it, pointing out my advantage over them through said bad grades? Or would that seem more like bragging and putting others down?

Additionally, I’m the only American born in my immediate family (1 of 3 in my extended) and 100% Taiwanese… Would these topics (like Nat Geo) seem stereotypical?

17

it’s certainly worth a draft. I’d write a draft of every one of those ideas at the proper time and see which one represents you best, especially with input from your GC and/or teachers.

18

Okay, thanks for the info!

Just curious… What do you think of this?

"I am composed of: 40% debater, 40% fangirl, 40% nerd, 40% musician, 40% curious learner, 30% artist, 40% multi-tasker, 60% writer, 40% scientist, and an unknown amount of reader, However, I have an impurity… a .04% impurity on my transcript… Two B’s my freshman year.

Cue gasps of horror and invitations to bite a glossy, polished posterior."

Are the references to Futurama risky, given that it’s an adult cartoon?