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Hi. I'm a high school junior who's just stumbled upon this wonderful site a few days ago. Anyway, my question is, will my chances for the Ivy League colleges (all of them excluding Dartmouth and UPenn) be affected if my final yearly grades drop from straight A's in freshman and sophomore year (with the sole exception of A- in standard chorus 9th grade) to mostly A's with a glaring B+ in AP physics and A- in AP Govt. junior year? I know that admissions officers frown upon decreasing GPA/grade trends. By the way, my school only puts the final yearly grades on our transcripts and does not count freshman year for our GPA's. I took all honors courses freshman year (except chorus), 3 AP courses and 4 honors classes last year, am taking 4 AP courses and 3 honors classes this year, and will take 6 AP's next year.

By Emily Haw on Sunday, April 28, 2002 - 11:46 am: Edit

I know a girl who got into Princeton University with a class rank of 68 and who never took calculus in high school. It depends on which Ivies. Princeton, I think, looks for the most well-rounded and interesting/amazing people, looks more for improvement and top-student determination rather than perfection. Dartmouth, however, is the exact opposite- gives students an academic ranking of 1 to 8 and always accepts 7s or 8s unless a major character flaw is shown through an essay. Depends on which Ivy you want.
I'm hoping for Princeton -- straight As freshman year, 7 APs overall, Two Cs and a D sophomore year, straight As junior year with 3 APs. It all depends -- are you an amazing person AND academic? Or just an amazing academic? Or neither? Ivies want people who are amazing not just because of their grades.

By rasp5erry on Sunday, April 28, 2002 - 10:44 pm: Edit

I like to think of myself as an all-around doer and achiever.

By emily haw on Sunday, April 28, 2002 - 10:52 pm: Edit

cool, then you have a nice chance.

By Roger (Roger) on Sunday, April 28, 2002 - 11:11 pm: Edit

Hi, rasp5erry, thanks for the nice words about the site. A "B" or two won't kill your chances. Colleges like to see rising grades, of course, but it's not until later years when you get to stuff like AP Calc and Physics.

Assuming you continue with just about all As, your other assets will determine your chances - SAT I and II scores, plus, of course, your achievements outside the classroom. Good luck!

By KathyQ on Monday, April 29, 2002 - 09:17 am: Edit

Can anyone help me understand how colleges look at grades in light of school grading and ranking and GPA calculation policies? My kid's school has pretty tough grading, she has one B each year freshman and soph year and may have two Bs this year (rest all A/A-). It's a small school (about 60 in class), but my guess is that she's still ranked in the top 10% unweighted. She and two other students take the hardest courseload in her class. How much will the Bs hurt?

By Dave Berry on Monday, April 29, 2002 - 11:07 am: Edit

It's rather relative, Kathy. Does your daughter's school have a good track record in sending its graduates to the Ivies and other so-called elite colleges? Colleges know the profiles of their applicants' high schools and, if your daughter's has a reputation for stringent grading (as in no grade inflation) and a challenging curriculum, then her Bs shouldn't be that big a negative.

The caveat, as always, is the level of competition. These top schools' applicant pools are jammed every year with seniors touting 4.3+ GPAs along with a large group of APs plus 4s and 5s in the AP exams (plus all the other application "candy"). Bottom line for your daughter: She should do her very best in the most challenging couse load and then get some quality advice for her college applications. That's really all she can do.

By KathyQ on Monday, April 29, 2002 - 01:47 pm: Edit

Thanks. The top ten percent of the senior class generally gets into ivies/top LACs. It's a very progressive, left-wing school, so I think some of the top students avoid the ivies out of principle (don't want to go to a school b/c of the name) and instead apply to some of the known-to-be-liberal LACs. Her GPA as reported is unweighted, it might well be 4.3+ weighted depending on how the college would weight. Anyway, I appreciate the advice, her SAT is above the avg at her current first-choice school, and she's a URM, has good ECs and hopefully good recs, so I'm hoping she can put together an impressive package.

By greenhornet on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 - 03:47 pm: Edit

If my HS has never sent anyone to Northwestern before, does that mean our school is not "tight" with them and therefore acceptance chances is lower?? I'm planning to apply to NU ED at the end of the year.

By Dadster on Tuesday, April 30, 2002 - 06:52 pm: Edit

It could work either way, GH. NU might enjoy getting their first recruit from your school, and cut you some slack. Or, since the school is an unknown quantity, they might not evaluate your application as accurately as they might otherwise.

If I had to guess, I'd say it won't hurt you. You might even include the fact that you would be the first to attend NU from your HS (make sure that's really true!), in your app or in correspondence with admissions officials. I go so far as to say it's a slight plus.

By starlete159 on Wednesday, June 26, 2002 - 06:09 pm: Edit

i actually have a question for Emily Haw if she still reads this, or really anyone who has advice. I really want to go to Princeton, its my NUMBER ONE, seriously NOT because its an IVY (because i seriously hate Harvard, Yale and all those schools.) but i had a friend who went there, and when i visited, i felt like it was perfect for me. the name didnt matter. I have good grades. (a couple Bs) 3.6 GPA. I have a GREAT personality. (not being concieted, i have my issues) and i'm very very well rounded. I hate studying but i get good grades, im really social, funny, i'm a coxswain (crew) i have good teachers recommendations, i go to an all girl boarding school of 125 people. taking 2 APs and 1 honors. (I really dont like to say all this. but im really stressing about college.) b/c i know Princeton is tough. i mean im not gonna be crushed if i dont get in b/c its not the end of the world, but then again... i would appreciate your advice. Thanks
Jackie