AP Calc BC - B grade - what are the chances for Ivy and MIT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Child in TJ - current Junior and may end with B grade in AP Calc BC. I have heard all grades should be A being Asian to get into Ivy/MIT/Stanford. What are the chances for those schools for a Bio major with a B grade in AP Calc BC and remaining As or A- in Junior year. Overall GPA end of Junior will be close to 4.3; SAT 1570+; Good ECs

It’s really hard to get into some of these schools but it’s even harder to stay in them. I had two friends at MIT that did not graduate because they couldn’t manage the classes after their sophomore year. One came back after 10 years and finished it up somehow and another is a dropout. I have several friends that just have a BA from MIT and other Ivy’s. They were too burnt out to pursue a professional degree.

Is your child getting a B in AP calculus because of lack of effort or is a B the best they can get?

[Anonymous]

Same as if the graduate with all As, slim. Unless a recruited athlete or getting in due previous large donations these schools are highly competitive and no one item, grades, test scores, ECs, essays, or recommendations tips the scale one way or another.

[Anonymous]

Op, why so fixated on MIT or an Ivy? There are hundreds of excellent universities in this country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Child in TJ - current Junior and may end with B grade in AP Calc BC. I have heard all grades should be A being Asian to get into Ivy/MIT/Stanford. What are the chances for those schools for a Bio major with a B grade in AP Calc BC and remaining As or A- in Junior year. Overall GPA end of Junior will be close to 4.3; SAT 1570+; Good ECs

It’s really hard to get into some of these schools but it’s even harder to stay in them. I had two friends at MIT that did not graduate because they couldn’t manage the classes after their sophomore year. One came back after 10 years and finished it up somehow and another is a dropout. I have several friends that just have a BA from MIT and other Ivy’s. They were too burnt out to pursue a professional degree.

Is your child getting a B in AP calculus because of lack of effort or is a B the best they can get?

Issue was the time. Sports took lot of time and had some other hard courses like AI which also took lot of time as well

[Anonymous]

My white TJ kid had about those stats with a B in BC (which is a fine grade for TJ BC, by the way, that class is awful). Rejected at the two ivies she applied to RD. Not suggesting causation. 4.3 is around top third at TJ. Just letting you know. Waitlisted UVA too.

[Anonymous]

What is sad is that the entire class of TJ is brilliant but because everyone is brilliant it makes it harder. I would consider going back to regular school and child will get in everywhere. Also after the NMS nonsense I would not trust how applications are handled. Please tell your child they are great and that you will get them through this. Hate kids being stressed out over things they cannot control.

[Anonymous]

The TJ slots at MIT and the Ivies go to kids who get As in Differential Equations and do original research that they publish or enter into one of the science contests. It's really about demonstrating that you've gone the extra mile. It isn't about a grade in one course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is sad is that the entire class of TJ is brilliant but because everyone is brilliant it makes it harder. I would consider going back to regular school and child will get in everywhere. Also after the NMS nonsense I would not trust how applications are handled. Please tell your child they are great and that you will get them through this. Hate kids being stressed out over things they cannot control.

This. This admissions season someone posted a podcast with transcript where admissions officers reviewed the applications from 3 high schools. One was a TJ student. That student was held to a ridiculous standard by the admissions officers. The student wanted to be an economics major but had not done "original research in economics" (the student had only taken 2 years of math beyond calculus, micro and macro econ and was president of the math team and worked in a STEM internship but the admissions team said it didn't support the major and just wasn't impressive enough). It was insanity. Meanwhile the other students from regular high schools (not in the DMV) had 1/4 of the resume and were reviewed better.

[Anonymous]

As others have said, 95% chance of rejection at the schools with 5% admit rate.

The key is not to focus on a "weakness" in a really hard math class, but to focus on the strengths and what makes your child stand out from the rest of the applicants. If there's not something obvious, you have a summer plan.

There are lots of great schools out there for different academic interests. Have a balanced list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is sad is that the entire class of TJ is brilliant but because everyone is brilliant it makes it harder. I would consider going back to regular school and child will get in everywhere. Also after the NMS nonsense I would not trust how applications are handled. Please tell your child they are great and that you will get them through this. Hate kids being stressed out over things they cannot control.

This. This admissions season someone posted a podcast with transcript where admissions officers reviewed the applications from 3 high schools. One was a TJ student. That student was held to a ridiculous standard by the admissions officers. The student wanted to be an economics major but had not done "original research in economics" (the student had only taken 2 years of math beyond calculus, micro and macro econ and was president of the math team and worked in a STEM internship but the admissions team said it didn't support the major and just wasn't impressive enough). It was insanity. Meanwhile the other students from regular high schools (not in the DMV) had 1/4 of the resume and were reviewed better.

Hi, do you happend to have a link or title to this podcast? thank you

[Anonymous]

DC had a B second semester and got in ED.

[Anonymous]

If they get a 5 on the AP exam, the concerns about the B are less, especially since this is a Bio rather than CS or engineering major.

[Anonymous]

As another poster commented, it is not the weaknesses that these schools focus on, but the strengths. What would your DC bring that another student doesn’t? Focus on what differentiates…

[Anonymous]

There are lots of great schools outside the Ivies and MIT that offer great programs for anyone interested in STEM (and strong humanities programs!) My kid had a B in Calc BC senior year (and a B in Calc AB junior year) at their small private, did not aim for Ivies or MIT, and is happy at their T-30.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is sad is that the entire class of TJ is brilliant but because everyone is brilliant it makes it harder. I would consider going back to regular school and child will get in everywhere. Also after the NMS nonsense I would not trust how applications are handled. Please tell your child they are great and that you will get them through this. Hate kids being stressed out over things they cannot control.

This. This admissions season someone posted a podcast with transcript where admissions officers reviewed the applications from 3 high schools. One was a TJ student. That student was held to a ridiculous standard by the admissions officers. The student wanted to be an economics major but had not done "original research in economics" (the student had only taken 2 years of math beyond calculus, micro and macro econ and was president of the math team and worked in a STEM internship but the admissions team said it didn't support the major and just wasn't impressive enough). It was insanity. Meanwhile the other students from regular high schools (not in the DMV) had 1/4 of the resume and were reviewed better.

Hi, do you happend to have a link or title to this podcast? thank you

I wish I could find it but I don't seem to have bookmarked the link. I thought it was really interesting.
Maybe someone else on here knows what I'm talking about? I heard about it on this site.