2 B's in math, am i cooking myself as a future CS or MechE major applicant?

Chance Me / Match Me
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hello, im currently a freshmen in high school right now and i have high aspirations to go to a selective college known for engineering such as Carnegie Mellon or Purdue or MIT

to provide context, i basically took a summer geo course from my school and got a B in that because i wanted to get ahead in math, and now this regular school year im taking honors pre-calc and I think im gonna get a B final grade because i did not lock in… so am i cooked? is it over? because i think my future math pathway and current ec’s are good

Here are my stats, ec’s, and extras (what im hoping/in progress AND what has already been achieved)

Test Scores (SAT): Projected 1450+ (my practice test scores have been averaging around 1490-1530 vocab is killing me :sob::folded_hands:)

Course List (IB, for the future years):

  • IB Math HL AI (one year during 10th since i have to do it)
  • IB Math HL AA (two years during 11th and 12th)
  • IB Physics HL (two years during 11th and 12th)
  • IB Chem HL (two years during 11th and 12th)
  • IB Comp Sci
  • IB Design Tech
  • IB Econ
  • IB German
  • IB Literature

Projected GPA’s (assuming I lock in and get all A’s after this year): 3.9 UW GPA, 4.5 Weighted GPA

Extracurriculars (already achieved):

  • Hosted a hackathon of 40+ members and taught 40 teens how to build and ship a video game
  • Co-Founded a non-profit organization that helped spread study resources across the world (Japan, America, Nigeria, and more) to almost over 1k students and got a news feature
  • Founded a non-profit organization that started a more affordable robotics program, owned 5 robotics teams (20ish members) of which 3 made worlds, and I have made worlds
  • Regional Rep for school TSA Chapter
  • Won in 6 different events for TSA regionals
  • Won in Computer Applications FBLA regionals
  • Won 5 different events for TSA States
  • Won in 2 different events for TSA Nationals
  • Qualification to FTC Worlds
  • Qualification to V5RC Worlds
  • ARC competitor

Extracurriculars (in progress):

  • FBLA States (hopefully 1st or 2nd, i have a good feeling since i already completed my production test and did pretty well compared to some of my competiitors)
  • Research paper (to be published) on new type of robot drive style (improved swerve drive)
  • Autonomous Drone Project using pathfinding and optical sensors to autonomously navigate a maze or obstacle course
  • Custom 3D Printer project, currently in CAD stage

Extracurriculars (hopefully):

  • Winning/Qualifying to ICDC Deca
  • Winning/Qualifying Awards in FTC and VEX robotics WORLDS
  • Winning more nationals for TSA
  • Winning/Qualifying for FBLA Nationals
  • Host larger 100-200 people hackathons
  • Making custom libraries for other teams in VEX, FTC, and FRC
  • Some good summer programs like NASA SEES
  • More engineering projects
  • Probably more that i can’t really think of as of now

Also do you think one more B (which would bring me to a 3.87 UW and 4.4 W GPA) in German for freshmen year would cook me? I’m currently at the top of my class but lagnuage is hard in my high school and currently i have an A but its always a possibility

also with balancing this many ec’s im def gonna have to take some time to learn better time management skills since i find myself procrastinating a lot nowadays

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To quote the great lyricist Meat Loaf, “stop right there”

You’ve completed one semester.

So no, you are not cooked. But you erred in rushing to get ahead. Math is foundational. Slow down and ensure you know before you move on.

A lot more is involved in a college decision than I want to go - from budget to your desires change to a lot more.

There’s no point in thinking about college now. Get through the school year.

Next year, have your folks take you to visit schools. CMU is not Purdue, etc. Figure out - what you like - size, environment (weather, urban/rural, etc) and see where you feel comfortable.

In most cases, should you decide to major in MechE and its’s too early to know, where you go won’t matter career wise as long as it’s ABET accredited. CS may be a bit different.

Let’s change your narrative. Let’s say you only got As and got a 1600 SAT or 36 ACT - you still can’t be assured admission wise of where you aspire to.

You can control what you can - ensure you have math, English, foreign language, lab science and social science each year. Do the best you can - and you’ll have options.

You’re not cooked but you’ve got one semester of grades - you’re highly unlikely to even want the same things in four years - so for now, be a great student, participate in ECs and help your community.

This is two years off and one year to start learning about colleges.

Why are you taking practice SATs in 9th grade. For MIT, you’ll need a 780 math and really an 800, etc.

And you have no projected GPA. I was projected to throw 40 touchdowns a year in my NFL career - but sadly at 5’6, I didn’t have one.

Get through the first semester of 11th grade and you can see where you fit.

Best of luck.

PS - for a 9th grader, pretty impressive to start two non-profits - hmmmmm - I hope you can prove it because many won’t believe you. Just being honest so ensure you can validate.

Basically, I’m saying - be the best you that you can be but you’re way too early. Enjoy being a high schooler. And the rest will work out.

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Academically, in-major electives and subareas can differ beyond the base ME curriculum. General education requirements and options can also vary. ABET accreditation of the major sets a relatively high minimum standard, but it is not true that all such programs are the same or that it does not matter which one is chosen – some may be a better or worse fit than others for the given student’s academic interests.

But non-academic factors like net price and other factors often loom large in college selection, whether for ME or some other major.

The good news is that ABET-accredited ME majors are relatively widely available, including at colleges that are not so selective that a B or few in high school will prevent admission.

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yeah, maybe i do need to chill out and enjoy it while it lasts! i’ll def start checking out colleges in person next year and start making my selections based on my liking of the area, community, etc instead of prestige and what i’ve probably seen on social media

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Deep breaths. You are fine. No need to be super intense in your freshman year. You don’t want to burn out.

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2 Bs won’t “cook” you for any school. Some colleges don’t even look at freshman grades.

That said, be careful to not over accelerate yourself before you are ready. AND, grades are more important than your ECs. Do not sacrifice your GPA for your activities.

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Who helped you with that non-profit you founded? At age 14 or 15, you are too young to do so almost everywhere. Is it sustainable without you?

On your list of accomplishments…did they all happen first semester of your high school year? Things you did in middle school won’t matter UNLESS they are things you continue in HS.

You are a freshman. Do your personal best. Once you have at least middle of the year junior year grades, and an SAT or ACT score…come back and ask.

Also prep for the PSAT because doing well on that and gaining NM status could possibly open some college doors for you. But you won’t be taking the PSAT until fall of your junior year.

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You are way, way, way ahead in math, and are pulling B’s. The error here is clear. You jumped ahead way too fast.

You need to figure out how to get back on track in math. Don’t worry about university admissions at this point. Instead, figure out how to get back on track in math.

Math is an area where what you are learning now is based to a very large extent on what you were supposed to be learning last year and the year before that and the year before that. What you are going to be learning next year is going to be largely based on what you are learning now. It pays to take the time to learn each step very well.

Calculus depends a great deal on high school algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and pre-calculus. You need to learn each of these steps very well before you jump ahead.

And then what you learn after calculus is going to be based a lot on both high school algebra and on calculus. There is a huge amount that depends upon these skills. You need to take the time to learn them very well.

I think that you need to talk to your math teacher about how to get back on track.

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you need to take a breath…SO MUCH CAN CHANGE. get good grades, be curious, explore. and please don’t found more things. Be a leader, yes, but growing things and leading things is more impressive.

My junior goes to a super selective HS with world-class college counselors (former AOs at top schools) - kids regularly go to Cal Tech, MIT, CMU, Michigan (OOS), etc.

They are building lists in winter/ spring of junior year after months of coached reflection AND once they have real 1st semester junior fall grades, PSATs, and maybe a first SAT/ACT.

My kid, at your age, had no idea they wanted to be an engineer….and now they are starting to think of new paths of engineering - last year they were sure they wanted mech-e or mechatronics, now, maybe now industrial/systems or aero. Things can change, don’t think you know what you want now.

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You’re definitely not cooked. Two B’s in math as a freshman is not going to tank your application, especially when the rest of your profile is this strong.

Let me break it down. Admissions at schools like CMU, Purdue, and MIT care about trajectory. If you got those B’s because you were accelerating through math faster than your peers, that’s actually a positive signal. You took summer geo to get ahead and then jumped into honors pre-calc as a freshman. Most kids at your school are probably still in algebra or geometry right now. That context matters.

By the time you apply, those two B’s will be buried under 3 more years of grades. If you lock in and get A’s in IB Math HL AA, IB Physics HL, and IB Chem HL, you’ll have a very strong upward trend. A 3.9 UW with that IB course load is competitive for all your target schools except maybe MIT (where you’d want to be closer to 3.95+, but your ECs could make up for it).

Speaking of ECs, your extracurriculars are genuinely impressive for a freshman. The non-profit that reached 1k students across multiple countries, founding a robotics program with 5 teams where 3 made worlds, TSA nationals wins… that’s not normal freshman stuff. Keep building on those.

For your SAT, those practice scores in the 1490-1530 range are great. If vocab is the issue, try drilling with Anki flashcards for 15-20 min a day. Consistent reps will close that gap.

Quick reality check on your targets:

  • Purdue Engineering: Very realistic with your projected stats. They care a lot about math/science grades and course rigor.
  • Carnegie Mellon SCS/Engineering: Reach but doable. Your robotics + hackathon background fits their vibe perfectly.
  • MIT: High reach for everyone, but your profile has the right ingredients. The research paper on swerve drive and the drone project could be differentiators.

Bottom line: focus on locking in your grades from here, keep building those projects, and you’ll be in a strong position. Two B’s from freshman year won’t define your application.

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Perfect. As others are saying, stepping back to a reasonable pace in Math is a good idea, but I have zero doubt you will be capable of learning all the Math you need to be an excellent engineer, scientist, or so on . . . or maybe something else, you never know what you might end up wanting to do for a career.

As an additional thought, if you continue on with an interest in Engineering specifically, I would definitely start thinking about things like the scale, resources, diversity, and so on of possible undergrad engineering programs. Not everyone wants this, but I think for some Engineering kids, their ideal type of undergrad is what are sometimes called Engineering “powerhouse” programs. These are mostly located at public universities, sometimes general flagship-style universities (so think like Illinois or Minnesota), but sometimes a state has divided it up so their engineering powerhouse program is not necessarily at the flagship for all purposes (think like Purdue versus Indiana, Georgia Tech versus Georgia, and so on). Sometimes states basically have both options (so like Texas and TAMU).

For the right kid, an Engineering powerhouse program is sort of like an amusement park. So many different classes, majors, concentrations, labs, workshops, student groups, and so on . . . just lots of different opportunities to do what you love with other kids who love it too.

I’m mentioning all this because when the time comes, you might well have a list exclusively or mostly made up of such powerhouses. Some such kids will add an MIT or CMU or such to their list, because those are special cases. But, for example, MechE kids might make a point to have a powerhouse like Iowa State on their list, which has automatic rolling admissions, and in fact out of state merit.

Knowing all this is an option should take the pressure off. Not that you don’t want to do your reasonable best, but you don’t have to be anything close to perfect to end up at a fantastic Engineering powerhouse. And I think most working engineers will agree that once you are at such a program, what you can do from there is really not limited, it is just a matter of your interests and aptitudes as an engineer.

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I will join my voice with those who are saying that you really need to slow down.

Most of your freshman classes are easier than the ones that you will do as a Junior and as a senior, especially if you are trying continue an accelerated track through your junior and senior years. If you try to keep up your ECs and classes at this intensity, you will likely falter academically, or by way of your ECs.

Consider those Bs to be your brain telling you “you’re not giving me enough rest and down time”. You can probably get As in the rest of your math classes, if you give yourself time to rest and recuperate.

You seem to be extremely passionate about robotics in particular, and it’s great to have interests and passions. However, you’re just 14 or 15, and both your brain and your body have limitations. Don’t try to push your limitations, try to figure them out and try to work within those limitations.

Also - you’re a freshman. There will never be a period like now for you to explore interests, and to leave your comfort zone. You love robotics, and that’s great. However, rather than look at your high school years as “an opportunity to achieve stuff that will get me into a Top College”, think about your high school years as a period during which you have opportunities to do stuff that you will not be able to do in the future.

Something to think about is that, if you engage exclusively in robotics EC’s and the classes that are encouraged for kids who are interested in engineering, you are also limiting your social circle to the same set of kids at your school and in other schools. In high school it is helpful to step out of your comfort zone socially as well.

Don’t stop engaging in robotics, but I would recommend that you drop a couple of your long list of robotics ECs and planned robotics ECs and planned engineering-themed classes, and replace them with something that is outside robotics. Something that is for you, not for some theoretical future in which you want to attend “A TOP College for Robotics”.

Try your hand at something creative that you enjoy doing, be it writing, fine arts, photography, etc. If you’re not engaged in a physical activity, add that to the ways to give your brain down time, and join a team sport, maybe a cycling club, or something like that. Learn birding and take early morning walks to see birds.

[Aside] Creative writing is an amazing skill for any engineer. [/aside]

My kid did an art/science track in high school. That art track did not make it at all difficult for her to follow her interests and she’s now doing her PhD at a top program in neuroscience. Her engagement in fine arts, performing arts, and social activism in high school and college helped her mentally, socially, and emotionally.

The purpose of high school is NOT to “make Sure That I Get Into A Top College”. It is to provide you with an academic, intellectual, social, and emotional base, from which you can successfully move on to your next stage in your life.

Too many high school students believe that college admissions are a Prize For The Best Grades And Best EC’s. So they plan their high school classes and ECs to maximize what they think are “things That Colleges Care About”. They prioritize grades over education and Awards and Titles over real achievements. The look at acceptances as validation of their worth as human beings. Few, if any, end up happy in the long term.

What you should do is choose classes first based on the education that you need in order to move on to the next stage, and expand that to include education that will help you, overall. Choose your ECs to include your present interests and passions, and make room for one to expand your outlook and step out of your comfort zone.

Most of all: Pace Yourself. An A in AP Calc BC as a junior is better than a B in AP Calc BC as a sophomore. Having ECs that fill up every free moment is not better than having a couple in which you invest yourself.

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So my advice won’t touch on the slow down portion or math sequence. Others got that covered. But mathy, engineering high school students tend not to score high on those English, reading tests. But since you now know that about yourself why not do something about it?? Colleges love students that can do both. In fact in the real world of engineering, communication in all its forms is exceptionally key. This could be the thing that separates you from other’s. Just a pro hint.

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