Is it possible to get into top 40 school with some Bs as final grades?

[Anonymous]

This is an honest question. My son's final junior year report card just came out. He has a final grade of a B- in an AP class. He also had two B+ in AP classes his sophomore year. Other grades are As in mostly AP and Honors classes. Do the B+s and the B- grades eliminate him from the top schools? Not thinking Ivies, but more like Notre Dame, Boston College, UVa, etc.

[Anonymous]

Probably. The B- junior year hurts.

[Anonymous]

It can happen, but those are all very competitive schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Probably. The B- junior year hurts.

Probably *eliminated*

[Anonymous]

That's what I'm afraid of. He's devastated. Some teacher issues with the B- which makes it even worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's what I'm afraid of. He's devastated. Some teacher issues with the B- which makes it even worse.

You need to address the devastation not by talking about his continued chances -- even before this B- nothing was guaranteed -- but by talking about good fit schools at all levels of selectivity.

[Anonymous]

B+ as a sophomore, not really, but the B- as a junior is not helpful. He's not eliminated straight off the bat, assuming test scores, overall GPA, rec letters, etc. are excellent, but I would be certain to be sure that there are schools on his list that are not as selective, and maybe remove a school or two (Notre Dame.) This is assuming he is an unhooked uppper middle class white kid.

Don't panic until you see his AP test score. If he gets a 5, that may help.

Also, was it one of the more difficult APs (APUSH, Physics C, Bio, etc.)? That may also give him a little grace.

[Anonymous]

top 40 with bunch of 2nd rate UC and stuff between 25-40 doesn't sound like a thing

[Anonymous]

No if Asian.

[Anonymous]

Is this from public or private?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for your replies. Private school. And B- in AP Physics. I know this is a stressful time for our kids, but wow, this is super stressful for parents too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for your replies. Private school. And B- in AP Physics. I know this is a stressful time for our kids, but wow, this is super stressful for parents too.

It looks like my son is getting a B- in APUSH (missing a B by literally 0.13 points) so I feel your pain. They'll be okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:B+ as a sophomore, not really, but the B- as a junior is not helpful. He's not eliminated straight off the bat, assuming test scores, overall GPA, rec letters, etc. are excellent, but I would be certain to be sure that there are schools on his list that are not as selective, and maybe remove a school or two (Notre Dame.) This is assuming he is an unhooked uppper middle class white kid.

Don't panic until you see his AP test score. If he gets a 5, that may help.

Also, was it one of the more difficult APs (APUSH, Physics C, Bio, etc.)? That may also give him a little grace.

Wrong. No grace. Don’t keep his hopes up like that. Reiterate that he had very little chance to begin with, and add some other schools to the list.

[Anonymous]

I think it's weighted but you should attack the teacher to get at least a b+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's weighted but you should attack the teacher to get at least a b+

Attack? That's a bit much, even for this crazy forum.