@SculptorDad You have a good point about different assumptions. I assumed that the OP was talking about several Bs in high school career, but if the student gets several Bs per semester, the student has to obviously adjust her expectation. But my point is: lowering your college expectation is still no reason to “freak out”. You can still accomplish great things in life in another way, and going to HYPSM in no way is a ticket to a successful life. The earlier you develop self confidence that is not tied to getting all As, the better off you will be. THAT was my point. In this sense, I was happy that my kid did not get perfect grades in high school and found out that he was not good in certain subjects because he is definitely bound to get Bs and even Cs in college, and I certainly don’t want that to affect his self confidence. I already told my kid that there will be some really smart kids at Stanford so don’t let it unnerve him but he has some other qualities that other kids don’t have.
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