When to Reflect on a Low Grade

Araconan
Sun, 27 Oct 2013 18:29:23 +0000

Hello!

I’m currently a Canadian high school student, and will be applying to Wharton ED. Lately, I’ve been pondering about a pretty big hiccup that I had in my junior year, which was a 67% in Gr. 12 Physics (equivalent to a C+ in my school). As such I’ve been thinking of ways to do damage control, when I decided, what if I try to highlight this in a more positive way? See, the reason why I chose to take Gr. 12 Physics in the first place was because I wanted to take as broad of a field of courses as possible (the “exploration” mentality of this is also mentioned in my Penn essay). Therefore I took the course knowing full well that Physics wasn’t entirely my strong point, and that I was going to get the toughest teacher. But nevertheless, I’m still proud of having taken it, and having learned more than I did in courses that I’ve gotten 99s in.

What I’m confused about, is whether I should actually write about this, or just keep it to myself for fear of giving the Admission Officer the wrong impression that I’m just “another kid” trying to give a mediocre explanation for a low grade.

What do you guys think?

Also, I know I’ve posted a “chance me” thread a while back, but because I forgot to mention this specific point back then, an updated “chance me” would also be really useful

Stats (with a few modifications from last time):

Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Location: Canada
GPA: 87/100 (School does not rank) (Gr.9: 86, Gr.10: 90, Gr.11: 86, Gr. 12 Optional Report for grades so far: 93)
SAT: 2350/2400
SAT II: 800/800/800 (Chem, Bio, Math Level 2)
AP: Five 5s, Four 4s - All self studied as my high school does not offer AP courses

Extracurricular:

Qualified for DECA Internationals (4th Place Provincials)
4th Place DECA Regionals, 1st Place in Orals Category
Led a team that raised ~$150k for development and R&D of invention that’s currently in offshore manufactoring stage
Qualified for Canadian Chemistry Olympiad
National Biology Scholar - Top 5% in University of Toronto National Biology Competition
Top 1% in University of Waterloo’s Avogadro Chemistry Competition
Top 5% in University of Waterloo’s Chem 13 Chemistry Competition
Top 10% Michael Smith Science Challenge
3rd Place Ontario Pro-Con Debating Forum (Individuals)
4th Place Ontario Pro-Con Debating Forum Finals (Team)
National AP Scholar
Volunteered at a geriatric hospital, organizing and leading recreational and therapeutic programs for seniors

Clubs:

Debating Club
DECA Club (senior executive)
Ambassador’s Club
Chemistry Club
Business Society

Essays:
Common App: Really good imo, will also have Ivy League alumni to edit, etc.
Penn Essay: Good

Recommendation Letters:
Teachers: Both very good
Supplementary: Extraordinary
Guidance: Decent, not expecting anything special, as I don’t know her very well

Thank you!