I am looking to some of the most competitive schools (UPenn is my top choice) but for one semester during sophomore year I got a C+. Would this significantly hurt my chance of admission?
(P.S. At the end of sophomore year my unweighted GPA was about 3.9, weighted being 4.35. After junior year my GPA is likely to be 3.8 and 4.4 respectively. Maybe a little worse.)
The answer, as always, is yes. It is possible it will hurt you, and at best it won’t factor into the decision making process. But colleges do place more emphasis of course rigor/level as well as Junior and Senior year vs Freshman and Sophomore. One cannot change the past, so focus on becoming a stronger applicant for the future!