@ReallyProudParent - I really think that this is much ado about nothing. Typically, when admission officials review their admitted students’ final transcripts, one admission officer will go through each school report looking for low grades as well as for disciplinary problems or similar concerns (which rarely crop up). The counselor who does this may be the regional rep who is only checking transcripts from students on his or her turf, or it may be another staff member (or members) who are simply assigned to hunt for downturns. But, in order for a file to get flagged, these downturns must be significant. While “significant” will vary from college to college (and sometimes even from applicant to applicant), at the elite-college level, we’re usually talking one D (or F) or a couple of C’s (if they weren’t there in the past). And even when such flags crop up, this doesn’t mean that an acceptance will be rescinded. It only means that the student will probably receive a letter that says, “What happened?”
In your child’s case, I don’t see any downturn here that comes close to “significant,” particularly because you say that there wasn’t even a “B” until the second semester. So, if the B (or more than one) was earned in a full-year class, then the final grade should be higher than a B … probably a B+ or A-. But even if it’s simply a B, I still don’t view the decline as one that a college would address.
You certainly should NOT call your child’s college (nor should your child call) to inquire about this issue. Instead, you should try to put this on the back burner and stop worrying. If, however, it’s keeping your child awake at night (and I don’t mean YOU!!), then s/he can write to the admission office and briefly say what you’ve said here (i.e.,hard classes in subjects that won’t be part of future plans and maybe some bad luck, too).
Although I can never respond to queries here with 100 percent certainty when I don’t know the school or student involved, I really feel that you and your child have nothing to worry about, and the aforementioned letter to the admission folks is definitely optional … which is not something that I always say on this thread.