<p>I am new to this site and my friend told me to go to this site for any advice. Right now...i need some advice...
My freshman was crappy...really crappy.
I only had 2 honors course throughout my freshman year because my school thought I was dumb. After taking reg. biology and honors geometry from AP Teachers, my grades weren't so hot. a 3.4 weighted first semester and 3.8 weighted 2nd semester. </p>
<p>However, after negotiating with my counselor and assuring them that I was ready to take on a heavier courseload for soph. After learning stronger study habits and studying literally my ass off and used to studying far beyond the material (because my honors geometry teacher and reg. bio teacher who were AP teachers made me), I got 4.8 both 1st and 2nd semester in sophmore year. </p>
<p>My junior schedule goes like this:
AP Chem
AP English
AP USH
Pre calc. honors
Spanish IV honors </p>
<p>My ec's are pretty strong with couple leaderships as well as being eagle scout.
also...will my low and embarassing freshman grades kill my chances in my dream schools-> UCLA, UCSD, Stanford, NYU, Harvard, Yale?</p>
<p>*i understand that YAle and Harvard does look and take into consideration freshman grades...so should i just give up on those?</p>
<p>The UC system does not look at freshman grades - they only consider grades in 10th & 11th grade. </p>
<p>Other colleges are happy with a pattern of improvement over time - your grades freshman year are not that bad, so the pattern so far is exactly what the colleges want to see. So basically, you should just keep up the good work and you'll probably be o.k. The only reservation is that the elite schools (Harvard, Yale, Stanford) do pay attention to class rank, and if there are a lot of super-achievers at your high school who have been getting straight A's since Freshman year, there may not be much you can do about rank. </p>
<p>But then, it is so difficult to get into those elite schools that you shouldn't really be planning around them anyway -- even if you had perfect grades and took every AP your school had to offer, AND got perfect scores on the SATs -- you still could get rejected. So the best plan is to focus on keeping your grades up and at the same time try to learn more about other colleges that might be a good fit for your personality and interests.</p>
<p>well really..the only reason im looking at stanford, YAle and Harvard is because my dad says," YOu never know until you try". I currently attend Beverly Hills High School and we go by decile ranking.(basically..no specific rank. eg. 1 decile means top 10 percent) IN freshman i was 3rd decile..but i am assuming im up to at least 2nd or maybe 1st decile. I dont know how good Beverly Hills High SChool looks in the eyes of an admission officer, but I guess our school is somewhat competitive.</p>
<p>nice upward trend. well...I go to a school in sherman oaks and I duno about everyone else...but in the L.A area..Beverly High is pretty famous. Well..for now..i best bet would be the UC's and NYU. The Ivy's and Stanford is pretty much a tossup if you continue you huge upward trend</p>
<p>dood. please dont worry. Ur freshman gpa isnt dat bad. it is NOT goign to kill ur chances especially with a good upward grade trend. Get ur test scores and come back to us</p>
<p>^ yo...how bout helping him..not helping him barf</p>
<p>theasianbum, I don't think your freshman grades will kill your chances at selective schools. They are not so bad and schools like an upward trend. Your overall GPA is fine and if your SAT scores are in the same range you are definitely a contender for all the schools on your dream list.</p>
<p>Having said that I would stress (as others have) that you need a few less selectives sure bets or safeties as well as dream schools. Being a contender does not mean auto-admit. Have an insurance policy! </p>
<p>Your dad is right; if you don't apply you won't get in, but this is only half the equation. The other half is even if you have all the "requirements" you still may not get in, so as the Eagle Scouts say, Be Prepared!</p>
<p>PS, are you also looking at LACs? Although the top LACs also require top grades and scores, they tend to take a more holistic view including ECs and talents, so you might add Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Pomona to your list. Don't know about Swarthmore, but anecdotal evidence shows that Amherst, Williams and Pomona love those Eagle Scouts. :)</p>
<p>momrath just summed up the best advice u can get theasianbum. You must have the "insurance policy" and LAC's, the most underrated colleges, provide great education. but anyway, keep up ur work. You wil do fine on the pace u are going</p>
<p>TAB, just continue to work hard and see where you are at the conclusion of your junior year. No need to stress about the particulars at this point. And have a lot of fun along the way too. The HS and college years can be some of the best times of a person's life. Don't diminish them with too limited a focus.</p>