Hello!
It’s currently the 4th quarter of my Junior Year and by the looks of it I’ll have a C in AP Chem, along with a B in Precalc/Trig. How badly will this affect me? (For 9th and 10th grade I had straight A’s and one B in Spanish 1 and 2) During my junior year I was diagnosed with an Iron deficiency that made learning difficult. I plan on taking a fee more AP’s for senior year and if I get all A’s will that compensate for my past grades? (I’m also planning on majoring in Business or Psychology so I assume as a likely Buisness major AP Chem won’t be as significant.)
Thank You!
:))
You have not shared a lot of other details, but the T20 are a reach for everyone. As you read the threads you can see kids with perfect everything not getting in at any T20.
Spend your time this summer working on identifying colleges you are likely to be accepted to that you would be happy attending and that your family can afford.
There is far more merit in non T20 colleges. Save the prestige and your money for your MBA.
You can still apply to one or two high reaches, but spend more time finding the right places so you will have choices you are excited about at this time next year.
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I am a junior as well. No expert on college admissions but I would say it certainly won’t help but it won’t be a complete deal breaker either. Pick your classes wisely next year so when you send first semester grades in, they look strong. If you apply anywhere early, your senior year grades won’t matter, so all they have is the end of junior year. Also use your additional information section wisely to explain extenuating circumstances. T20 are reach for everyone as mentioned above so it’s hard to say but you should focus on the right fit, not necessarily the rank of the school. You got this!
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Are you interested in a T20 college or a T20 business program? My daughter wouldn’t have been admitted to a T20 college, but she was admitted to a T10 undergrad business program (Kelley @ Indiana).
Math is one of the most important classes undergrad business programs consider when reviewing an applicant. How was your rigor? I assume you will take Calculus next year, but how does that compare to the math track at your school? At some schools, Calc senior year is typical, and at other schools kids are one or two classes beyond it by senior year.
Even if you are unable to get admitted to a T20 business program, please know that you will have amazing opportunities at many schools. We toured Ohio State’s Fisher School and the students we met there were as impressive as anywhere. They had great in-class experiences, competitive internships, and job placement outcomes on par with top schools. It’s a big cohort and we met the cream of the crop, but it was a good reminder that there are opportunities everywhere.
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Actually many of the highly selective schools require a mid semester grade report during fall of senior year when you apply early. They are often due around Thanksgiving, before decisions are made.
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The answer is - we don’t know - because we are not AOs.
And i can give you ten rankings of top 20 - which will have some commonalities and some not. And different disciplines within business have different rankings - so what do you want to do? Accounting? Finance? Supply Chain, etc.
What you need to focus on is having a list of reach, target, and safety schools.
You gave no info - GPA, ACT, ECs, etc. but typically Indiana is the “easiest” top 20 B School to get in - in my opinion.
But guess what- millions of people who went to non top 20 b schools are living just fine. I turned down two for undergrad to go to #40 at the time.
Control what you can - your academics. Get a varied list of affordable schools that are the right fit for you - last time I checked, no one has a great four year experience because their schools showed up at the top of a magazine list.
You’ll be fine.
Good luck.
Some cold facts:
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in most cases, the work gets notably harder in Grade 11. Many, many students breeze through Grades 9 & 10 only to find themselves having a harder time in Grade 11.
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An AP class is meant to be comparable to the standard expected of first year college students. The idea that a HS student ‘should’ be excelling in APs is relatively new, and is not particularly reasonable in itself. The emphasis on AP achievement in HS is part of the ever tightening set of standards that selective colleges use to filter applicants.
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Bluntly, yes having a C will affect you a lot- IF- repeat that IF- you continue to focus on admission to a “T-20” as a matter of success or failure. As @CCName1 pointed out, the ‘overall’ “T-20” and the ‘business’ “T-20” are not the same, and as @tsbna44 pointed out the T-20 for (say) supply chain is different than for (say) finance. And that doesn’t even start to address other factors that will matter to you: affordability, location, size, campus culture, etc.
Dumping the whole “T-20” mindset, and thinking hard about what you want from your college besides the sweatshirt will make the next year much happier for you.
And (whispering b/c I will get flamed for it if I say it out loud), business is one of those subjects in which the brand name of your college is not essential for success. Does having the Wharton/similar name open doors? of course, particularly certain doors. Is it essential? nope.
Anecdotal example: my niece went to the 4th ranked public university in her state (so there were 3 other public unis better ranked that she didn’t get into). Her university is ranked in the T50-100 nationally. She majored in digital marketing and was hired straight out of college by a top-tier name-brand company. She didn’t have any special connections, but she did hustle (and continues to- she has just been hired away by an even fancier company).
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Apply to NYU Stern. My brother’s son had a terrible GPA but he had tons of extracurricular activities that, even if he wasn’t very good at, made him look impressive to NYU.
Just to add. Ohio State Fisher is T20 (business) in a lot of rankings. It makes sense that the program is good.