<p>Say that I'm applying to CALS as a bio major. From 9th to 11th grade, I take most of the hardest courses and receive straight As in everything except in math, where I get 2 B+s and a B, essentially reducing my unweighted GPA to a 3.75 or so (By the way, I'm Asian, so go figure). Is there any chance that they might give me some kind of a break since those classes are unrelated to my declared major?</p>
<p>Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I don't know of any written (or unwritten) requirement that says you must have a 4.0 (or any other specific GPA) for your application to be considered. I do know students who were admitted to Cornell with (gasp) a few Cs on their transcript.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that if you're Asian and you want to be taken seriously, your numbers have to be somewhat higher than those of the rest of the pack. That's not to say that it's not possible to get in if you don't have great numbers, as long as your essays are stellar and you've been very involved in your community. My problem is that my ECs are somewhat weak, so I'm hoping that higher numbers could offset this disadvantage to some extent.</p>
<p>So find a passion besides getting a 4.0 GPA.
Cornell loves people with passions.</p>
<p>Did I say that I did not have a passion? My problem is that I recently developed one in 11th grade and have only been involved in it for a short time. "Weak" ECs do not necessarily mean that I am currently an unfocused individual.</p>
<p>And when did I say I had a passion for a 4.0 GPA? I was only wondering if they would cut you a break for getting lower grades in a subject unrelated to your intended major. I'm not ignorant of the fact that there are other factors in the admissions process, such as ECs, recs, and essays, but right now, in this thread, numbers are my primary concern.</p>
<p>Now, would you like to share your opinion regarding this specific topic or do you wish to continue ridiculing me?</p>
<p>sheesh...don't ask for advice if you're going to criticize it.</p>
<p>you don't have to be the best at something in order to be interested in it (as in, if you get Bs in it, so what?). Maybe the challenge and rigor of the bio courses youve taken is what has influenced you to pursue that particular field.</p>
<p>So my point was ... demonstrate your passion and don't worry about a B+ or a B here and there. Does that sound like ridicule or encouragement?</p>
<p>My additional point is that Cornell admissions are much more holistically driven than stats driven. They love kids who can articulate what sort of awesome things they want to do with the opportunities afforded them at Cornell and only Cornell. These are the kids that get in. And lots of them don't have perfect stats.</p>
<p>Ok...so in layman's terms, you're saying that it wouldn't affect me as much as if, lets say, I had straight Bs in science courses, assuming that I'm majoring in one particular branch of science.</p>
<p>To me, "find" a passion and "demonstrate" a passion are two different things.</p>
<p>But your point is well taken. I am aware of the fact that other parts of my application will be much more important than a couple of Bs in a few math courses. I just wanted to know if they'd be willing to cut someone a break if they did worse in a subject unrelated to their major. That's it.</p>
<p>Apply and find out.</p>
<p>And actually ... it's not so much "find" and "demonstrate" a passion ... although those would help. It's most important to <em>articulate</em> that passion.</p>
<p>Parenthetically speaking however -- IMHO as a former science major, math was pretty important. But if you've pulled off some solid B work in math -- you are not a math dummy. And if you have a decent SAT in math, and a decent SATII in Math ... you should be fine.</p>
<p>They will see the B's during their evaluation of your app. They will base their decision on your overall application. None of us know how the admissions comm evaluates overall GPA vs grades in classes relevent to major. </p>
<p>The B's won't make or break anything, and I'm not sure why you're posting here for "advice" when there is nothing you can change about the grades. All you can do is work on the other parts of your application and make them as good as possible.</p>