How much do midterm grades matter?

Transfer Students
1

Hi.

I’m a theatre/physics double major freshman. I applied to Brown, Vassar, Oberlin, and Middlebury for next fall, though to most of them I only officially applied as a theatre major.

I had a 3.78 GPA (unweighted, all honors and AP) in HS, a 34 on the ACT, and a 4.0 my first semester of college.

I had to send in a midterm grade report to each of my transfer schools (obviously), and a bunch of my professors said things like “I give everyone a midterm grade a half-step below the grade they’re actually on track for” or “you’re doing really A-grade work in class but we haven’t had any exams or papers yet so I can’t really say anything above a B+” or just “I don’t do midterm grades I just give everyone a B+”.

The midterm grades ended up being:

Calc 2: A (actual grade)

Creative Writing: A- (actual grade)

Ballet: A- (actually at an A, lowered for report)

Stage Design: B+ (will definitely end semester with an A, professor literally guaranteed it)

Science On Stage (an English/analysis class, technically): B+ (currently have an A, going by actual grades)

I was really frustrated and tried to explain to the profs that midterm grades matter a lot more for me because of transfer apps, but none would relent.

How negatively will this affect my applications? Especially since a huge portion of my essay was about the academics here being way too easy…

2

I would have your professors explain the circumstances of you can. However, as long as they are a mix of As and Bs, you will be fine. At least according to Cornell.

3

Midterm grades are, to my understanding, mostly for posterity’s sake. If your grades are fairly consistent with the performance shown in your transcripts, then there is nothing to worry about.

4

i have same question… but with a c+ fall semester due to excessive absences, on a student coming from high school with straight a’s?

5

yeah. my midterm report was an A,A-, and 90%(an A in that class…). looks like you are doing good and i think itd be ok

6

Pitching in the discussion, I have one C in my transcript, the rest is As and A-. As for my midterm, I’m expecting As and A-. Will a C hurt my chances?
My SAT score is not stellar (1250) and I’m an international applicant, asking for aid.