My UW GPA by applications will be a 3.98 because of a B in my freshman year due to medical reasons including hospitalization and lung surgery and chronic lung pain (which I will include on my application).
However my WGPA will be a 4.47, which is the highest in my grade/class. In other words, my class rank will be #1/600+. My SAT is also 1580.
But the thing is, there are people in my grade with a 4.0 UW GPA and 1500+ SAT with similar rigor, and their WGPA is only 0.02-0.05 off mine (rank #2 in my grade is 4.0 UW GPA and 4.44 WGPA).
In admissions, how will this be viewed in comparison to other people in my school with 4.0 UW GPA and 4.44 WGPA? Especially if I put my medical issues, will the 4.0 vs 3.98 be held against me? Or at that point, will it be mostly ECs and essays?
For context to my rigor, as a junior I’ll be taking vector calculus 1 and 2 for semesters 1 and 2 respectively, and Differential Equations and Linear Algebra for senior year.
(before you ask how I’m taking these classes; I go to a big/slightly competitive public school, but my counselor has allowed me to take college classes at a nearby CC that goes on my HS transcript and GPA).
The elite colleges you tagged will look at your application as a whole- GPA, test scores, class rank, school profile, essays, ECs, etc. A single B from freshman year is unlikely to matter much. Please realize that these schools have single digit acceptance rates and build your college list accordingly. Good luck to you!
I’m sorry for your condition - but there is no evidence this is why you got a B. You are making an assumption - so you will hurt your chances by writing this. You got a B - own it.
That said, no school is going to reject you because you got a B - and vs. kids who got no Bs, they’re not going to hold you in lesser regard vs. your school.
Hope you are better - but you have no proof as to why you got a B - but excuse making is not a good look.
Let your school counselor explain your medical issues. It is perplexing that this medical condition only affected ONE course.
One B grade your freshman year of high school likely will NOT be the reason for rejection at any college. Frankly, if you don’t get accepted someplace, you will never know why…but one B grade likely won’t be the reason.
These colleges do not form a list of applicants by numbers at each high school and work their way down from the top.
The only important question is whether your grades/rigor/score combination is in the competitive range from your HS, it doesn’t have to be at the top of that range. And I personally suspect it is in the competitive range for any college.
Which is only like 1/3rd of the battle. I wouldn’t be as reductive though as saying it is about ECs and essays. It is about standing out from all the other kids not just at your HS but many other schools too who are all in that competitive range.
Maybe one or more ECs will do that. Maybe recommendations. Maybe an essay. In no case is it really that thing itself, it is the impression it creates of you as a person, and how they imagine you contributing to their college community.
So it is very hard to know what will strike some reader and then some admissions committee as a good reason to admit you and not all the many other applicants they see as similarly competitive. But I am pretty sure you will get your chance to do that as much as any of the other kids you are describing.
A single “B” grade will not be the reason you aren’t accepted to a highly selective school. Likewise, having all “A” grades won’t guarantee acceptance at a highly selective school. You have a very strong academic record and an excellent test score but lots of kids with your stats will go on to be rejected at many top schools (my S24 had a 3.98 UW, 4.65 W and a 1580 SAT but was rejected at many of the highly selective schools he applied to). To maximize your changes make sure you have strong essays, a cohesive story and excellent recommendations. Most of all, create a balanced list of schools to apply to including a safety school you would be happy to attend (and can afford).
Please don’t do this. If your medical issue affected your grades, your guidance counselor should address it. And, for goodness sake, it is one B in one class. If you go into some explanation (for a single B!), you will more likely annoy the AO more than impress them.
The colleges you list are not rack and stack. They look at the whole application. Someone with a lower GPA but some specific talent or EC experience that the AO likes may get the nod over someone with a higher GPA and class rank. Or someone whose personal statement really stands out for some reason. Or someone who is first gen or an athlete or a legacy or or or or or. There are many factors. Valedictorians get rejected from top schools everyday. It’s not about who’s number 1, it’s about the whole package.
Again, please do not do this. It will not be a good look, imo.
Not mostly, but it is everything taken together. It is the whole package. And you will never know why one person gets in and another similarly ranked person does not.
As others have said, I do not think that you should explain a medical condition that resulted in one B during your freshman year of high school. You can discuss this with your guidance counselor. Most likely the right approach is for them to mention it, and you don’t even think about it.
Admissions to top schools is not a strict GPA competition. Instead it is based on much broader considerations. They will look at your essays, and your ECs, and your references. Your letters of reference are going to matter. One B during your freshman year of high school probably will not matter at all.
Admissions to Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale is very hard to predict, and is a reach for nearly every very strong student. You should not expect to be admitted to any of them, and you definitely do not need to be admitted to any of them to do very well in life. MIT and Stanford graduates routinely work alongside UNH and U.Mass and San Jose State graduates and in most cases no one cares where you got your degree.
It sounds like you are doing very well. Make sure that you apply to safeties. Look for universities that are a good fit for you. Keep your budget in mind.
Also, if you do get admitted to a university on the Harvard, MIT, Stanford level, that does not necessarily mean that you should attend it. Again, look for a university that is a good fit for you. If you are competitive for admissions at a university at this level (and it sounds like you are), then you should be able to get accepted to a wide range of other very good colleges and universities.