I have a B right now in APUSH. I have the lowest percent grade for the B range which is really bad. I come from a super competitive school but there are always students who get As and A-s in APUSH. I’m trying my best but with AP Chem, AP Calc, and a ton of ECs its really hard. My goal is to get a B+. Even though I get a B, will it hurt my chances to go to T20? I love Vanderbilt and Brown.
No. One B will not hurt you.
I have a B+ for freshman english but I bet that won’t hurt me because I’m the section editor for newspaper. Will it especially not matter if my major is in no way related to history?
Okay, two Bs won’t hurt you. Yes, you’ll want to do well in classes related to your major, but even so, you can’t have a lopsided transcript in which you only do well in classes you like. It’s only two Bs, which is not optimal, but it is still very, very respectable. If you are rejected, they won’t be the reason. Leave it at that.
Every part of a record is considered, so I can’t agree that it makes zero difference. However, it is one grade in one class in 3+ years of grades in one part of an application.
It’s extremely unlikely that such a a small component of an application will make a difference in an admission decision. Do as well as you can, as you do in every course. That’s the best you can do.
Frankly, any opinion on this topic makes no difference in your grades, your admission, etc. so it’s not really worth thinking about.
Of course it will hurt your chance. But you won’t be rejected simply because of one B.
I had 4 Bs throughout HS. However, they were all in AP classes. The rigor of the course that you get a B in matters, but if you were to get a B in an non-AP course, the best time to do it would be freshman year b/c you’re still adjusting to HS.
DS is applying to top schools this year and has one low B in AP CS A that he took his freshman year. He took the class online and had a high A but “cleverly” blew off the final project as he thought he could still pull an A, the project was not interesting, and he procrastinated and ran out of time…at the time he got the A he was a decent programmer already and I think that is one reason he was bored with the project.
He achieved USACO Gold last year and has done decently at several other programming competitions. He also taught Python and Java to several kids over the summer. Will the B help his application to top schools? Definitely not, but he has done what he can do and moved past it.
Your B in English can be mitigated a bit by being the section editor. Get a 5 on APUSH exam. Take another history course and get an A. Do things to mitigate the B. It is really all you can do. Good luck!!
My older son had a C in an AP class and several Bs overall. Very rigorous prep school. 35 ACT. He got into a T20.
Our school’s APUSH course is known to be hard and my APUSH teacher seems to fully understand and notice the efforts that I’m making. Hopefully his recommendation letter will let the admission officers know that I tried.
On the side note, a lot of students are experiencing the same situation as me. Our school has less school days but decided to take more days off because of mental health. It’s been really hard for students like me who take 3 AP courses.
Yup. My english B+ was from freshman year. I’m might get a B+ for apush this year but I take 3 AP classes total this year which is the max number that my school allows. Thanks for your advice!
Sorry, but how your B grades are viewed depends a lot on the competitiion. And just what is your possible major? You said IS before and someone pointed out Brown doesn’t have that specific concentration. In general, B’s in cores are risky. Top colleges expect you to have the right mastery in those, to prepare you for a balanced curriculum. The one exception is foreign language, IF it’s not called for by the major.