<p>How much do grade nine marks matter? Assuming that you did reasonably well [I’m from Canada, so high eighties, low nineties], but not as well as your other grades [but there is an upward trend]. Would a b in grade nine [in a non-academic course] negatively impact your admission chance?</p>
<p>It depends on the individual school whether 9th grade marks count. Some schools will disregard them entirely while others consider them. In general, they matter less then later grades. Upward trends are good, so if you do poorly but improve it shouldn’t impact you too badly.</p>
<p>One b will not ruin you admission chances. Obviously it’d be better to have an A, but you can get into any school in the US with a b (not saying it’s guaranteed, especially for top tier, but its possible and done every year). The fact that it’s a non-academic course is good, but it depends on the course in question as to how much effect it will have.</p>
<p>In short, don’t worry about a single B.</p>