I go to a very competitive public high school and have a 4.46 W gpa and 3.88 UW which is around top 7% of my class. However, junior year I took an extremely rigorous schedule (6 classes all advanced) which included AP computer science having no previous coding experience. I ended up getting A’s and A-‘s in 4 of my classes but got a B+ in honors pre calc and a B+ in AP computer science. This year I have an A- in AP Calc but am at risk of getting a B in AP English. Will the B’s I’ve accumulated over high school keep me out of top schools?
The college application (common app or individual college) have many components: courses/grades, standardized test scores, activities, honors, essays. and more, such as ability to upload a resume, a zeemee ACCT, arts submissions, etc.
You may want to consider a “specialist” approach to activities. For example, if you play soccer, you want to be all in: i.e. “play soccer on a team” and “volunteer coach 5th graders” and “ref elementary soccer as a paid position”. You could even volunteer to stripe the fields, etc.
I mention the above, because so many people think it’s best to be “well rounded” and dabble in scores of activities, when it may be a better choice to show passion and commitment with one subject matter. And, if you are not into sports, the same “specialist” approach applies. You could do the same with music, or coding or even social media. You could volunteer in a senior center and help seniors set up Facebook.
Bottom line, show a passion for learning and living and giving back. At least that’s my 2 cents.
^ I think there’s a lot of good advice provided. Deep passion (at highly selective schools) is a sign of commitment, intention and bringing about change or having impact. That said, I wouldn’t do things simply to pad your resume. Take a deep dive with real passion because you want to, not because you think it looks good. Be authentic and true to yourself. That’s what they really want.
I have heard numerous admissions officers (including some from elite colleges) say that they look to create a well rounded class – and that includes some well-rounded students and some students with particular talents/passions. So my recommendation is for the student to try and be the best version of whoever he/she is – if he/she is well rounded that is great and if he/she is more focused that is great as well.
Back to the OP’s question – it is unlikely that a few B’s in a very rigorous schedule will shut you out of top colleges. But admissions to these schools is competitive so hopefully you have prepared a balanced application list with reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable and that you would be excited to attend.