Straight As versus almost straight As

[Anonymous]

Anyone think it really matters all that much? Anyone think almost straight As may look even better to some admissions folks? My junior never had anything below an A- in his rolling gradebook the last two years and ended both years with all As (no A-), but he currently has a B in Calculus and while I understand in September this is pretty meaningless, he is pretty upset about it and feeling like he won't be able to pull off an A in the class. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[Anonymous]

It matters.
My child applied with equal As and A minuses (no Bs) and very strong extracurriculars and did much differently in top20 admissions than classmates who only had one or two A minuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It matters.
My child applied with equal As and A minuses (no Bs) and very strong extracurriculars and did much differently in top20 admissions than classmates who only had one or two A minuses.

I agree it matters my DS nearly all A's and only a few A-'s, all of which were in 9th/10th, did better than peers with slightly more -'s. I think the upward trajectory, i.e. straight A's in junior year mattered as well.

[Anonymous]

How could almost straight As look better than straight As? Given the same rigor, straight As always looks better. But no school requires straight As, kids get into every school with less than perfect grades.

[Anonymous]

It matters for the most selective schools. Other schools, not as much. Really depends on what colleges you’re looking at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How could almost straight As look better than straight As? Given the same rigor, straight As always looks better. But no school requires straight As, kids get into every school with less than perfect grades.

Grades that are too perfect feel somehow off to me (like cheating is involved or something) but I think that is because literally not one person in my graduating class (small private) had straight As. Having seen my son get through two years with straight As, I can see how it is possible. But calc is definitely challenging him.

[Anonymous]

I disagree that it matters. My kid looked at admission file from highly selective school and it said “2 B+” and mentioned it was a year with a life stressor. A-‘s were never mentioned and there were several.

Then, Scattergrams shows the admissions from our school were never given by ivies for the #1 top GPA applying.

My guess is the stories here are showing the holistic process. Saying it matters bc ur kid got in over others says nothing…bc we don’t know anything else about the kids’ whole package.

[Anonymous]

Colleges keep saying, OP, that they want the student to challenge themselves with the most advanced courses in their high school.

So if you're playing that game, you need to realize that straight As in normal-track classes won't be as interesting to a college admissions officer as straight As in the most advanced classes. The eternal question is: B in a difficult AP class, or A in an easier class? And the answer is always A in the AP class.

There is no secret sauce unless the applicant has a hook or completely lies on their college app.

[Anonymous]

I think it matters in context of the rest of the school. If there are a group of kids who have straight As and another group that gets a mix of As and A-s, the first group gets a shot at T20 and the second group EDs to Boston College.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone think it really matters all that much? Anyone think almost straight As may look even better to some admissions folks? My junior never had anything below an A- in his rolling gradebook the last two years and ended both years with all As (no A-), but he currently has a B in Calculus and while I understand in September this is pretty meaningless, he is pretty upset about it and feeling like he won't be able to pull off an A in the class. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I know someone whose kid who had a B+ in Calc BC (midterm report) , applied RD to MIT and Harvard and was admitted to both. The process is holistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It matters for the most selective schools. Other schools, not as much. Really depends on what colleges you’re looking at.

His top choices are the big, popular state flagships - UVA, Chapel Hill, UCLA, Cal, Mich, Wisc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it matters in context of the rest of the school. If there are a group of kids who have straight As and another group that gets a mix of As and A-s, the first group gets a shot at T20 and the second group EDs to Boston College.

Depends on the high school, at my DS's private HS only 2 kids had straight A's. The other kids in the top 10%, including my DS, had 1-4 A-'s (this group all had highest rigor, all AP'/honors classes in all subjects). All of the kids in the top 10% got into Ivy+ schools. The kids in the same set of rigorous classes but slightly lower GPA's, i.e. more -'s and a B or 2 ended up at Emory, Rice, UCLA etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It matters for the most selective schools. Other schools, not as much. Really depends on what colleges you’re looking at.

His top choices are the big, popular state flagships - UVA, Chapel Hill, UCLA, Cal, Mich, Wisc.

Should get into all these with a B.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It matters for the most selective schools. Other schools, not as much. Really depends on what colleges you’re looking at.

His top choices are the big, popular state flagships - UVA, Chapel Hill, UCLA, Cal, Mich, Wisc.

Should get into all these with a B.

Pp here. Or at least the B won’t hinder his chances at these schools. Really depends on the rest of the app.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It matters for the most selective schools. Other schools, not as much. Really depends on what colleges you’re looking at.

His top choices are the big, popular state flagships - UVA, Chapel Hill, UCLA, Cal, Mich, Wisc.

Should get into all these with a B.

Pp here. Or at least the B won’t hinder his chances at these schools. Really depends on the rest of the app.

B will hurt a lot at UNC OOS or Cal. Probably not fatal at the rest.