Do bad grades matter?

I am applying to Choate, Hotchkiss, Deerfield and a couple other schools
I had straight A’s in Grade 9 and in Grade 8 I had straight A’s except for French 8 which I got a B. I am in Grade 10 now applying for a Grade 10 boarding position.

I’m from Canada and I currently have

AP Human Geo - 80 (B)
Chemistry 11 - 92 (A)
Human Geography 12 - 86 (A)
Law Studies 12 - 91 (A)
English 10 - 87 (A)
Senior Band - 86 (A)
Orchestra - 86 (A)
Physics 11 - 97 (A)
Pre Calculus 12 Honors - 93 (A)
Spanish 10 - 98 (A)
Student Government - 91 (A)
Sports Team Manager - 86 (A)

In Canada the letter grades are given as following percentages

A 86 - 100
B 73 - 85
C+ 67 - 72
Etc…

Do you think my grades being quite low / barely an A will affect my application?

If you get into one of these schools and if you continue to think a B is a quote bad grade, you will be in for a very rude awakening.

If you don’t get in, it won’t be because you got a B.

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Yes I’m aware my grades aren’t bad, but I feel that compared to the peers I will be in competition with, it might be on the lower end especially with very low A’s and a B. Would a better SSAT grade and personal statement make up for it? Or would EC’s make up for it?

I’m not sure, but I had a D in one of my math courses (My class average was a D) so I mentioned it during my interviews and said 3 other achievements that is related to math (AMC, Math Team, etc) and they said it would be fine as long as theres something to cover for it and as long as I show that I will keep trying hard. I think you’ll be fine.

Good luck!

Thank you for your response!