Sweetie, for someone to answer your question, you'd need to provide a lot more information (e.g., re your school, your courses, your extracurricular activities, etc.). Wait -- don't start posting that info. And don't waste any more time here or on CC. Instead, buckle down and bring up your grades in English and history. You are completely capable of this. Do the reading before class. Take a risk and participate in class discussion. Give yourself enough time to do the best possible work on your writing assignments -- including time to revise your first and second drafts! Stop saying and thinking that English is bullshit.

Do I sound like your mom? That's probably because this is exactly the same advice I gave my STEM kids, and they went on to a top university (where, I will add, they still had to do a lot of writing, even as STEM majors).

Happy holidays and good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Are they relegated to so called 2nd tier schools? Are there high-end colleges that truly see the potential with very strong math/science skills rather than being denied admission because a B means you can't write?

Yes, I know I'm being a bit dramatic but if perfect grades and scores are no guarantee for admissions, what chance do I have for a Cal Tech or MIT?

Getting As is hardly sufficient for you to claim strong science/math skills. It is clearly your relative strength, but that doesn't mean it's so great compared to others. Maybe it is, but to prove it, you need to accomplish much more than getting As.

For top schools, try Oxford and Cambridge. European schools more forgiving of lopsided candidates.

Anonymous wrote:Are they relegated to so called 2nd tier schools? Are there high-end colleges that truly see the potential with very strong math/science skills rather than being denied admission because a B means you can't write?

Yes, I know I'm being a bit dramatic but if perfect grades and scores are no guarantee for admissions, what chance do I have for a Cal Tech or MIT?

When I posted my comment, I should have been more specific by saying schools that have good science/math programs LIKE Cal Tech or MIT. Many schools have great programs and not all are the Harvard, MIT, or Yale.

Before I posted, I looked at several schools on CC and their admissions rates. The one thing that stands out is not everyone who has perfect grades gets into top schools and some not so top schools. I will keep working hard and dust off negative comments. Discouragement from others and its acceptance is the absolute worst thing any young person should have in their mind. Being realistic is good and like CC people say, you don't know until you apply.

Parent is wondering where their laptop is. Gotta go. Thanks to those with positive remarks!

PP here:

College is what you make of it. Don't get upset you didn't end up at MIT, prove you could make it there by making the most of where you do end up.

CalTech and MIT are small, elite institutions so yes you are going to have to have perfect scores on everything to be competitive. But there are a lot of other colleges out there. And to be honest, you can probably find a more interesting academic experience at other colleges.

I was a straight A student across the board who went to a midwestern state university (and not one brought up as a great public school). I got a good education, was able to do research in two departments and taught in one as well as participated in study abroad and the honors program. After college, I went to MIT for grad school. In my opinion, MIT & CalTech are much better places to go for grad school than for undergrad.

College is what y

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you a student? You sound like a student rather than a parent.

A student. Does that make a difference in my quest to obtain sincere, objective responses? I think I'll try my luck at College Confidential.

Go look for yourself:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/1588918-mit-class-2018-ea-results-thread.html

Lots of brutally strong applications deferred/rejected. Without major accomplishments in math/science or a big hook I'd say you have no chance.

Can you provide additional information. What you've posted so far doesn't sound like it is enough to get into MIT or CalTech. It would be helpful if you are a white female, black male or Native American applying to those schools. Your chances decline if you are asian or a white male.

Op, are you at a school with a lot of grade inflation? Or a rigorous private school where b's are more common?

Regardless, I agree you should try to get your grades in the social sciences and humanities up. What tends to bring your grades down? Do you need to improve your writing skills, or study harder for the tests? Writing skills are a valuable asset in any field, so I recommend trying to work on those. Meet with your teachers and ask what could be done to improve your writing. If it's just a matter of studying harder for the tests, I'm sure you're capable of doing that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you a student? You sound like a student rather than a parent.

A student. Does that make a difference in my quest to obtain sincere, objective responses? I think I'll try my luck at College Confidential.

These schools generally want an unweighted GPA of 3.9 or 4.0, and if your english/history classes are dragging your GPA down, then your chances may be lower. Not impossible depending on your overall GPA, but you need to take this into consideration. Can you view your english/history classes as an "investment" for the next year or two, and work flat-out on them to up your grades? Is it possible to rock your History and English APs and send the (hopefully really high) scores in? If it's any consolation, the exact reverse is true for the history/english types who are trying to get into ivies or top colleges. I say this as the parent of one of those history/english types who had to work to get As in calc, stats and science classes. The good news, in DC's experience at least, was that you can get into a really great (top 5) university without taking APs in all of your non-strong subjects - it worked for DC to go the honors route for a few of the science classes, with just a few AP math or science classes.

Also, as you probably also know, in order to demonstrate your passion for science and particularly if you want them to ignore your other subjects, you'll need to show some great achievements in the way of competitions or activities. It's depressing, I know, but the schools you mention have to choose from so many great candidates and you really need to figure out a way to make yourself stand out.

Sorry, there are some jerks here on DCUM. Unfortunately I have to say, as a denizen of College Confidential myself, that I fear you may not always get sincere or objective responses there, either. You will, however, get many more posters who are familiar with the schools you're interested in. As with DCUM, after a little while you will figure out how separate out the chaff. Good luck, and I mean that sincerely!

Anonymous wrote:Are you a student? You sound like a student rather than a parent.

A student. Does that make a difference in my quest to obtain sincere, objective responses? I think I'll try my luck at College Confidential.

Are you a student? You sound like a student rather than a parent.

Anonymous wrote:None.

So let your English or History major make the next mathematical approach to physical problems.

None.

Are they relegated to so called 2nd tier schools? Are there high-end colleges that truly see the potential with very strong math/science skills rather than being denied admission because a B means you can't write?

Yes, I know I'm being a bit dramatic but if perfect grades and scores are no guarantee for admissions, what chance do I have for a Cal Tech or MIT?