would getting 3 B's raise a flag for top private schools?

[Altamont]

<p>I am afraid I could be getting 3 B's in 3 AP classes as the final 1st semester grades. would USC, middlebury, duke, and northwestern see this as slacking off? thanks</p>

[spanglish]

<p>I think it depends on how well you performed in previous years. If you usually got Bs and As, then they wouldn’t see it as any change.</p>

<p>However, if I were them, and you were previously a (nearly) straight-A student, I would see the 3 Bs as slacking off, yes.</p>

[hmom5]

<p>On Midd:</p>

<p>

Another applicant had an 800 on the SAT critical reading, 700s on the SAT math and writing, and captainship of the varsity soccer team to her credit; but she, too, had a C on her transcript, and her GPA was only in the high 3’s, raising suspicions of slacking.

</p>

<p>More:</p>

<p>

A look at Middlebury admissions
A reporter from the Burlington (VT) Free Press sat in on an admissions committee discussion at Middlebury, and wrote this article:
<a href=“http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/...3120309&theme=[/url]”>http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/...3120309&theme=&lt;/a&gt;
(I don’t think Free Press articles stay up indefinitely, so this link may not work after awhile.)</p>

<p>To me, the most depressing part of the article was the reporter’s impression that extracurriculars don’t seem to count. The admissions officers seemed most interested in grades and SAT scores.</p>

<p>Some excerpts:</p>

<p>“Applicants the committee tended to endorse quickly were mostly academic titans. They were often in the top 5 percent of their class, with all or almost all A’s in the most difficult courses available at their schools, and near perfect SAT or ACT scores. The admitted applicants often listed numerous extracurricular activities, although the impact these had on the decision-making process was unclear to this reporter.”</p>

<p>And:</p>

<p>"The committee grew excited about one applicant’s internship with a public health organization and the recommendation that she received from a scientist there. This – coupled with the student’s interest in majoring in science at a time when Middlebury is trying harder to recruit future scientists – seemed to help erase a few B’s from the applicant’s transcript in the eyes of the committee. They recommended her for February admission.</p>

<p>In other cases, extracurriculars did not help. A student’s four years on the school newspaper did not cancel out the C he received in pre-calculus or the drop in his GPA after the first semester of his senior year. He was rejected.</p>

<p>Another applicant had an 800 on the SAT critical reading, 700s on the SAT math and writing, and captainship of the varsity soccer team to her credit; but she, too, had a C on her transcript, and her GPA was only in the high 3’s, raising suspicions of slacking.</p>

<p>Someone with such great SATs should be closer to a 4.0 GPA, one committee member suggested. As for her soccer playing? It was viewed as ho-hum – there was no indication she’d taken the initiative to contact coaches at the school, nor was she a recruited athlete. The committee recommended that she be rejected, and then went on to waitlist a 3.97 GPA cello player who had not sent a recording of her cello playing to the music department."</p>

<p>Yet this student was accepted:</p>

<p>"The committee’s longest discussion was about a math genius with weak social skills. The young man’s tests scores were impressive – a perfect 800 on the math SAT II and scores nearly as high on verbals. He’d earned straight A’s in his school’s most challenging math and science courses and dominated math competitions with outstandingly good computation skills.</p>

<p>However, there were problems in his file. The boy had flunked at least one class and consistently drew low ratings on PQs – personal qualities. A school recommendation suggested that the student might need support, socially. An alumni interviewer noted that the boy came across as unenthusiastic during their meeting. "

</p>

[IndianOptimist]

<p>Spanglish is right, you can’t just take the three B’s out of context. Colleges would look at them in comparison to the rest of your transcript, as well as cross reference that transcript with your SAT scores. If were a straight A student, with high SAT scores, then colleges might view your Bs as an impending downward trend, and it may affect your chances of admission. This is all speculation though.</p>

[Virtus_1]

<p>Really??</p>

<p>Because I was thinking just the opposite. I though most colleges acknowledge the fact that the fall for seniors is a very busy, stressful time in which a lot of time might be missed in class due to college tours, etc. I heard that they are somewhat sympathetic. I don’t know how many classes you are taking, if you are only taking about 5 and you get three Bs, it might raise an eyebrow. If your taking about 6-8 classes, they probably won’t care much and assume is was a temporary downward trend due to the circumstances I mentioned.</p>

[IndianOptimist]

<p>Not to be depressing or anything, but I’m usually told that the <em>top</em> private colleges (I assume the OP refers to HYPSM) aren’t really sympathetic to anything. Why show sympathy when there’s another applicant waiting to fill your shoes that doesn’t need the sympathy? Sorry to be brutally honest, though this is just my opinion.</p>

[Beautifulnights]

<p>I personally think they’ll show a little sympathy. But not too much.</p>

[amarkov]

<p>Well yes; they’re not heartless. It depends on what they judge the 3 Bs reveal about you. If you look like someone who’s under a lot of stress because of college applications and such, then it probably won’t count too much against you. If you look like someone who’s just slacking off because they don’t think they have to do work senior year, that’s another issue.</p>

[glassesarechic]

<p>Colleges do not expect your grades to drop, at least not first semester (they’re fairly lenient with rescinding based on a fall in grades). They expect you to maintain a rigorous courseload and maintain your academic standards in those classes. Will one B hurt you? No, but 3 may. Whether it will or won’t will depend on the strength of your overall application.</p>

[hmom5]

<p>

If you look like someone who’s under a lot of stress because of college applications and such

</p>

<p>Every student applying fits this description.</p>