<p>Sorry if this is a dumb question but it has been bothering me for quite a while. I received a B in AP Calc BC last semester and it seems like the same thing is going to happen again this semester. I'm very high in the top of my class and have a great GPA still, etc. Will having a B (or two) lower my chances of getting into HYP by a lot? (assuming everything else was good) All my other grades in AP classes are A's or A+'s....it's just that my schools grading scale is very very harsh and I'm pretty bad at math...The only other bad grade I have is from Freshman year (B+ in Hon Algebra II). Sorry if this post sounds ridiculous but I truly am worried for when admissions come around next year...</p>
<p>This is truly ridiculous. These schools don’t care if you get a C or a D. They just want people who show great potential. Not just HYP… all the top schools. The fact that you are qualifying yourself solely on your grades should make you more scared than your actual grades.</p>
<p>‘These schools don’t care if you get a C or a D’
That is not the case with the tippy-top schools[ HYPSM], who have thousands of students with 3.9 GPA’s applying for admission.</p>
<p>I am sure that a B is not going to change the admissions officer’s opinion. Maybe two B’s will look a <em>tiny</em> bit worse, but I doubt it is going to lower anyone’s chances considerably. I know many people who have gotten into HYP with a 3.9. I just hope my C isn’t going to destroy my chances. Maybe if I retake the class and get an A…</p>
<p>I am sure the B will not hurt you.
However, do not forget that there are 26000+ students who possibly have A’s in their classes.
My advice: write somewhere in your essay that “when i sleep, I dream of math solutions and differentiating. etc etc.” Just write about how much math scares you, and how you scare it too.
They will be interested in that. It is a part of the “applicant as a whole” concept. Personally, I hated math till my father sat me down. I just brought myself to love it.
Wrote a paragraph in my essay and how I spoke to a taxi cab driver about math. He was a math pro himself. </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I guess I’ll just try have to keep working at it in class. </p>
<p>On the same note, does anyone have any opinions about low AP scores preventing you from getting into these top schools? They obviously don’t help but would they hurt your chances? Or would colleges rather see that “you tried” and didn’t do so well but were willing to challenge yourself? (Obviously I’m referring to the same class…) Thanks!</p>
<p>AP scores do not make a real difference until you are enrolling at the school and seeing how many credits you can get for them.</p>
<p>I will disagree 100% with bluewhitebulldog. Your two B’s will not be what decides whether or not you get into Yale, and drawing attention to them in an essay is silly. Do not waste valuable words in that essay on justifying academics.</p>
<p>I don’t think any single thing at the margin–a couple of Bs, 30 points lower on the SAT, one EC that’s not stellar–is likely to make the difference in an admissions decision. What matters is the whole picture. Take a look at the admitted/rejected threads, and you’ll see that people with all kinds of pictures get in, and don’t get in. There’s no one thing that makes the difference, and sometimes it’s hard to understand why the results were what they were–but in general, those who are accepted have a number of very good things in the overall picture…but few are perfect.</p>
<p>Just remember that there are SO MANY students with great GPA’s ,SAT’s ,EC’s, etc, etc applying to colleges like YHPS, etc that admission’s officers are often forced to look for reasons to REJECT students.</p>
Just remember that there are SO MANY students with great GPA’s ,SAT’s ,EC’s, etc, etc applying to colleges like YHPS, etc that admission’s officers are often forced to look for reasons to REJECT students.
<p>Even two students from the same school are likely to have many more differences than a single grade. I suppose if they are both students with no ECs, than a small difference in stats might matter, but even that’s not too likely. They will have different essays, different recommendations, etc.</p>
<p>I was the only person from my school accepted to yale and <em>gasp</em> there was more than one B on my transcript. What I’m trying to say is that one B will NOT be the reason you are not accepted. As others have said, they look at the ENTIRE picture. It’s good that you do care so much about your grades though and are trying to keep them high. The B won’t kill you, just do your best to raise it if possible. If not, just try not to make it fall.</p>
<p>I got a smattering of Bs throughout my HS career including Honors Chem (Bs both semeseters) in my Jr year. And I declared that I wanted to be a Chemistry major. And I’m Asian! Gasp! How about that?</p>
<p>I got As in AP Chem my Sr year however. I was ranked about 10-12th in my class of 200.</p>
<p>I had decent (but not stellar) scores. But it was clear that I was a high achiever, taking the maximum load my urban school district offered. While I’ll never know what got me accepted (at Y and all other schools applied), if I look back, I’d say my “entire story” grabbed people’s attention: very solid academic achievement, Chinese guy in top student leadership in a majority African American HS, thoughtful essays about betrayal of friends secret.</p>
<p>OP: no. If one is accepted or rejected, it won’t be because of that B or two or the absence of them.</p>
<p>similar to the last two posters, i got into harvard and yale with two B’s on my transcript. Even while coming from a fairly uncompetitive school. You should put some of the energy you waste worrying about your transcript into doing some kind of extra-curricular thing that you really like. As many posters above me have stated, adcoms will look at everything, and so you should take care to not be one-dimensional.</p>
<p>My report card is riddled with B’s…and yet, I am a proud member of the Yale Class of 2013.</p>
<p>Yale (and virtually every other school) cares more about whether or not you are passionate about certain subjects/activities/ideas and carry the potential to live well/excel in their school’s unique environment than a B in Calc. </p>
<p>Don’t stress–just do your best, apply to schools you like, and let the chips fall where they may.</p>
<p>It’s not the two Bs that will keep you out, but an obsession over grades coupled with a lack of intellectual interest or passion makes for a not very interesting application, don’t you think? Try not to fixate on “Yale”. Think of the rest of your HS years as part of the process that gets you to the next step, which will probably be enrollment in some wonderful college where you can work on your strengths and weaknesses, try something new and make friends. Do the best you can and cast a wide net when you send in your college applications. Why do you want to go to Yale? Find other colleges that meet your needs and apply to all of them. Then you can come back here next year and tell us what two Bs has meant for you.</p>
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