<p>I was just at the Exploring College Excellence joint program in my town tonight, and I asked a version of the classic “Should I take a hard class in which I might get a C, or an easy class in which I’m sure to get an A?” question in the general Q and A at the session. Of course I got the expected answer, with laughter from many in the audience, “We expect to get an A in the hard class.” But then the Brown admission officer followed up by saying, “You are not on track to be admitted unless you take the hardest classes at your school.” And the U of Chicago officer also implied that it’s more important to challenge yourself intellectually than merely to be a grade-grubber. (What she specifically said is that colleges don’t look for a particular grade average, because every high school has different grading standards anyway.) So if your occasional less than perfect grade results from you challenging yourself in your high school studies, don’t die from worry, but still apply to the colleges you like and see what happens. </p>
<p>Good luck in your applications.</p>