Brown ED - First term grades

[Anonymous]

I think AOs know how stressful fall semester of senior year is, and they take that into account when reviewing applications. They realize that 1 B is not the same as a D, and they're looking at everything holistically. I think more important that a single B are factors like demographics, what type of school your kid is in, what they're looking at studying, etc. If they've already filled the slots for women who want to be bio majors from the Northwest, then it doesn't matter if you have straight As or one B, you're not getting in. So many factors at play.

[Anonymous]

It’s more akin to “are they keeping up”. Like they can rescind any admit who seriously drops grades after acceptance. It’s a check in to see they didn’t completely crash out senior year—-and 1 B 6 weeks in- certainly isn’t crashing out since it’s not even a final semester grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A B grade now would be a problem

At a grade inflated public school, yes. Not at a private known for rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My issue is that the B in a quarter isn’t representative of grades at our school that is semester based. My kid had a B first quarter in other years, but always ended up with the A at midterm and Final (those are the ones that show up on the transcript; not quarter grades). So the quarter grade has no context if you aren’t aware of this. Yes- at this tough private kids sometimes have a quarter grade B. - but the colleges would never know if they get the A second and on the midterm (30% of grade).

Personally, I might be more accepting of this then the kid who has never received anything below an “A” their entire life and is going to crack in college when they do get one.

Yes or no:

Does this request for grades show a snapshot in time? Yes. The fact that a kid can bring grades up later doesn’t change the fact that the kid did not have an A at a point in time. That information is useful.

This is not how it works. Colleges don't fixate on one thing. Just like a 1500 doesn't automatically throw you in the reject pile. We should all come back in a couple months to post how it worked out for our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good God. Who wants to be part of this rat race? No wonder this generation has mental health issues. And most of these kids stressing out to the point of a nervous breakdown over one B+ won't end up more successful than their peers who "settle" for run-of-the-mill state schools. Arguably less, because they're so busy perfecting their resumes and freaking out over grades that they never develop the soft people skills required for success. Roll Tide!

Agree.. it’s hard watching my senior balance everything. He’s not a robot and can’t execute everything perfectly all the time.

If you’re otherwise a perfect fit for the college but they reject you bc of one B on a progress report, then that school sucks.

Then frankly I would argue that he's not Princeton material.

Princeton is arguably the most elite institution in America. They have like what? 1500 seats per class?
Every strong high school in the DMV has a kid (or kids) who will not meet a high school course that they cannot effortlessly do well in out of the gate. It doesn't matter the subject matter, the teacher, the length of time in the course (first week, first quarter, etc). They will do well and it won't be stressful.

I would argue that Princeton can and should find enough of this type of kid to fill their unhooked spots. And as a parent at an "elite' private high school, I can tell you that the unhooked Princeton (and Harvard, Yale) admits I have known over the past 2 admission cycles are THESE kids. If this is not your kid (it wasn't and isn't mine) than I would have a hard time saying that your kid should get one of the 1500 Princeton spots. Because these kids exist and there are certainly more than 1500 of them worldwide. If the course has to be "just right", the teacher "just right", the point in time for the grade "just right", the stress level "just right" then your child is really not at this level. And that's ok. Not every smart and hard working kid can or needs to attend an elite college.

You're posting as if you know those kids so well. They're not robots... they're teens with ups and downs like every one else. For THOSE kids, do you think Princeton, Harvard, Yale, put them in the reject pile because of one B on a progress report? Clearly, that one B is not indicative of their fit for the school. This is what I meant by a kid who is a fit for the school, but the school automatically rejects them because of one B - yes, that school sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My issue is that the B in a quarter isn’t representative of grades at our school that is semester based. My kid had a B first quarter in other years, but always ended up with the A at midterm and Final (those are the ones that show up on the transcript; not quarter grades). So the quarter grade has no context if you aren’t aware of this. Yes- at this tough private kids sometimes have a quarter grade B. - but the colleges would never know if they get the A second and on the midterm (30% of grade).

Personally, I might be more accepting of this then the kid who has never received anything below an “A” their entire life and is going to crack in college when they do get one.

Yes or no:

Does this request for grades show a snapshot in time? Yes. The fact that a kid can bring grades up later doesn’t change the fact that the kid did not have an A at a point in time. That information is useful.

This is not how it works. Colleges don't fixate on one thing. Just like a 1500 doesn't automatically throw you in the reject pile. We should all come back in a couple months to post how it worked out for our kids.

You completely ignored what I said. I never said it means a rejection. I said does it provide useful information? Can it be used to compare kids from the same school? Yes and yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A B grade now would be a problem

At a grade inflated public school, yes. Not at a private known for rigor.

It depends on who else is applying from the school. They're ultimately looking for kids who are pushing the limit of what is possible within whatever cohort they're applying from.
If you are applying with a few quarter B pluses and your classmates are applying with straight As in the same classes then it's not going to look great for you. If you're applying with a few Bs but out of the classroom you're doing really outstanding things then maybe the grades don't matter as much.

I saw this play out last year with several Ivies. The Ivies want the outliers within their school. They figure out who these kids are by a combination of the recs, grades, extracurriculars, etc. They don't want the second tier kids. They want the movers, the shakers, the ones who stand out as "wow, that kid is exceptional."

[Anonymous]

To the OP. Nobody here has any idea how this situation will be evaluated. We no know nothing of your student, their story, the school, the classes they are taking and associated rigor, intended major, etc.

At the end of the day these schools want who they want for the reasons they want them. A single B won't matter if a student is desired for whatever reasons they have.

[Anonymous]

OP, first of all, I want to make sure you know that Brown requests Qtr 1 grades from every ED applicant. The request itself doesn't convey anything about your child's application.

One B will not matter, and keep in mind that the AOs know, from the school profile, about the school being on the semester schedule, so that the grade may end up being an A.

My child got into Brown. They had a smattering of Bs across their transcript - can't remember how many, but a good handful if not more. All classes were high rigor, though, so these were too - and in classes unrelated to intended major.

He (and it could be important that it was a he, perhaps) did have strong ECs and (we assume) LORs and SAT score (although the score was the mean for Brown pre-COVID, not super high - and that was the realistic measure since it went back to test required his year).

Long story short, this B is not going to alter the outcome, and I would do everything in your power to communicate that to your child. Sounds like they're an amazing student and will do amazing things wherever they go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, first of all, I want to make sure you know that Brown requests Qtr 1 grades from every ED applicant. The request itself doesn't convey anything about your child's application.

One B will not matter, and keep in mind that the AOs know, from the school profile, about the school being on the semester schedule, so that the grade may end up being an A.

My child got into Brown. They had a smattering of Bs across their transcript - can't remember how many, but a good handful if not more. All classes were high rigor, though, so these were too - and in classes unrelated to intended major.

He (and it could be important that it was a he, perhaps) did have strong ECs and (we assume) LORs and SAT score (although the score was the mean for Brown pre-COVID, not super high - and that was the realistic measure since it went back to test required his year).

Long story short, this B is not going to alter the outcome, and I would do everything in your power to communicate that to your child. Sounds like they're an amazing student and will do amazing things wherever they go.

Based on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, first of all, I want to make sure you know that Brown requests Qtr 1 grades from every ED applicant. The request itself doesn't convey anything about your child's application.

One B will not matter, and keep in mind that the AOs know, from the school profile, about the school being on the semester schedule, so that the grade may end up being an A.

My child got into Brown. They had a smattering of Bs across their transcript - can't remember how many, but a good handful if not more. All classes were high rigor, though, so these were too - and in classes unrelated to intended major.

He (and it could be important that it was a he, perhaps) did have strong ECs and (we assume) LORs and SAT score (although the score was the mean for Brown pre-COVID, not super high - and that was the realistic measure since it went back to test required his year).

Long story short, this B is not going to alter the outcome, and I would do everything in your power to communicate that to your child. Sounds like they're an amazing student and will do amazing things wherever they go.

Based on?

Ha ha. This was me, and it's a fair question. We don't know. I just wanted to be nice and help the parent feel better. It is indeed possible that they're not an amazing student and won't do amazing things wherever they go, but I just have the feeling they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good God. Who wants to be part of this rat race? No wonder this generation has mental health issues. And most of these kids stressing out to the point of a nervous breakdown over one B+ won't end up more successful than their peers who "settle" for run-of-the-mill state schools. Arguably less, because they're so busy perfecting their resumes and freaking out over grades that they never develop the soft people skills required for success. Roll Tide!

Agree.. it’s hard watching my senior balance everything. He’s not a robot and can’t execute everything perfectly all the time.

If you’re otherwise a perfect fit for the college but they reject you bc of one B on a progress report, then that school sucks.

This sort of infantile whining is why your child doesn’t belong at Brown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good God. Who wants to be part of this rat race? No wonder this generation has mental health issues. And most of these kids stressing out to the point of a nervous breakdown over one B+ won't end up more successful than their peers who "settle" for run-of-the-mill state schools. Arguably less, because they're so busy perfecting their resumes and freaking out over grades that they never develop the soft people skills required for success. Roll Tide!

Agree.. it’s hard watching my senior balance everything. He’s not a robot and can’t execute everything perfectly all the time.

If you’re otherwise a perfect fit for the college but they reject you bc of one B on a progress report, then that school sucks.

This sort of infantile whining is why your child doesn’t belong at Brown.

+1.

It’s also an obvious tell you are not Asian. Find some lower-tier school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, first of all, I want to make sure you know that Brown requests Qtr 1 grades from every ED applicant. The request itself doesn't convey anything about your child's application.

One B will not matter, and keep in mind that the AOs know, from the school profile, about the school being on the semester schedule, so that the grade may end up being an A.

My child got into Brown. They had a smattering of Bs across their transcript - can't remember how many, but a good handful if not more. All classes were high rigor, though, so these were too - and in classes unrelated to intended major.

He (and it could be important that it was a he, perhaps) did have strong ECs and (we assume) LORs and SAT score (although the score was the mean for Brown pre-COVID, not super high - and that was the realistic measure since it went back to test required his year).

Long story short, this B is not going to alter the outcome, and I would do everything in your power to communicate that to your child. Sounds like they're an amazing student and will do amazing things wherever they go.

Based on?

Ha ha. This was me, and it's a fair question. We don't know. I just wanted to be nice and help the parent feel better. It is indeed possible that they're not an amazing student and won't do amazing things wherever they go, but I just have the feeling they are.

That was sweet.

[Anonymous]

New poster. My kid had the same issue. lol the record is very strong otherwise and it is already an A in 2nd quarter—was on the border. Uw 4.0