How many B's is too many?

<p>For the top schools (i.e. top 20) how many B’s is too many? Obviously as few as possible is ideal, but what is the ballpark cut-off? How many B’s do you think would considerably hinder your chances? I think that two or maybe three B’s would probably do you no serious harm…?</p>

<p>my friend got in cornell with 4 Bs and 1 C+</p>

<p>The only way to get a feel for how many Bs are too many is to find out how the adcom computes GPA, then compare your GPA to the average or range for accepted applicants.</p>

<p>Footloop-- Which do you think is worse-- the B in band or the B in AP calculus? Some might believe band is less demanding, so that B is unforgivable. And calculus is tough, so that be is understandable. But band is a different skill set and not necessarily easier. (Maybe you could have chosen a different example). Or did you mean the B in band just isn’t going to count because a lot of colleges don’t consider grades outside core academic classes.</p>

<p>In response to footloop and mom58,</p>

<p>my brother (stanford 07) got mostly As, a couple of Bs and one C in a wood shop class. He’s pretty terrible at that kind of thing, and in the end, he spent more time on “important” classes like Calc and English, and kind of blew off the elective. In the end, he was really shocked by the C, and it lowered his GPA considerably. However, perhaps colleges will look over a C in a class like this more than they would in Math or science. The AP calc class would definitely be harder, but getting a C in wood shop doesn’t mean that you are less fit to major in biology or whatever. As Mom58 said, it’s a totally different set of skills, so a low grade is treated very differently.</p>

<p>Some colleges recalculate GPA only using the core curriculum and taking out the weighting. So, a B in calc would hurt you, and a B in band would not. </p>

<p>Also, it seems to me that it would also matter what your highschool’s reputation is. If the college in question is very familiar with your hs and knows that it is extremely rigorous, but that kids do well academically at their campus, even with B’s, a few B’s might not hurt. But, if the college either doesn’t know anything about your hs, or feels that the rigor of it doesn’t stack up to others, the B’s might be a problem.</p>

<p>if you get just 1 B and 4 C<code>s, it</code>s even worse. so, less B<code>s doesn</code>t mean more chance.</p>

<p>it all depends on what classes you take. for example if you took all honors and ap classes, a couple of B’s isn’t bad. however, if you took all regular classes and you got straight A’s, that’s even worse than getting B’s in aps.</p>

<p>How bout this:
All Honors/AP/IB classes (Except Grad. Reqs.) all four years-most rigorous courseload in school
Freshman-4A 3 B / 4A 3B
Sophomore-7 A/ 7 A
Junior- 5 A 2B / 7A + 1A</p>

<p>Stanford and Berkeley (OOS)?</p>

<p>Haha, there’s no “cutoff”. Calculate your GPA. Compare it to admitted students’ GPA. I believe UCs don’t count freshman year so that will be in your favor. You then have 2 Bs. Provided you have great SAT scores, recs, etc…you have as good a chance as anybody.</p>

<p>Basically, people are spot on when they say “Well, X got into Cornell with a C and X was rejected with a 4.0”. Grades are important, but nobody can tell you if your 1 or 2 Bs is what will ultimately tilt your application out of the adcoms’ favor. But I’m going to take a guess and say don’t freak out over a couple :P.</p>

<p>I got all A’s freshman and sophmore year, but 2 B’s in junior year. Do you think that will make me seem like a slacker?</p>

<p>not it you took harder classes, like more APs and stuff. remember, what they think of your grades has a lot to do with what classes you take.</p>