<p>I have completed two years of high school. </p>
<p>9th Grade: (Not my best year) First year of HS</p>
<p>End of the Year Grade Averages</p>
<p>GPA 2.30</p>
<p>Algebra 1 - C
Math Intervention - C
World History - C
Journalism - C
Gym - D ( Skipping Class )
Health - A
English 1 - B
Physical Science - B</p>
<p>10th Grade: (My best year) Big jump from 9th Grade</p>
<p>End of the Year Grade Averages</p>
<p>GPA - 3.30</p>
<p>Geometry Honors - B
English 2 Honors - B
Biology Honors - B
Creative Writing - A
African American History - A
Gym (Fixed Grade from 9th Grade) - A
Health - A
Commercial Arts - B</p>
<p>Goal GPA in senior year is 3.7 or higher. Being a valedictorian in my class of 2015, hopefully :)</p>
<p>EC's</p>
<p>Technology Student Association
Temple U Pre-College Program
CCP Dual-Enrollment Program
Yearbook Club</p>
<p>I did a lot of EC's in middle school. Planning to do more in junior and senior year of high school such as volunteer work and more.</p>
<p>5 time Honor Roll Student (9th and 10th grade) and I don't have a class rank because my school doesn't do that. </p>
<p>Planned for junior year:</p>
<p>AP Environmental Science - Goal: 4 or 5
AP U.S. History - Goal: 4 or 5
Taking the PSAT in October for National Merit Scholarship
ACT in Feb. 2014 - Goal: 30+</p>
<p>I want to apply to University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Brown University, Temple University and Drexel University to major in Criminal Justice.</p>
<p>It’s too hard to chance you without junior year grades (most important grades for colleges) and SAT/ACT/SAT II/AP scores. Also, try to bump your unweighted GPA to at least 3.9.</p>
<p>I have to admit, I winced when I saw your freshman year GPA. However, the Ivies are unpredictable, as anyone will tell you. You obviously put in a lot of effort in your sophomore year and, sometimes, that is exactly what the Ivies want to see. Improvement can be admired far more than solid grades because it shows a capacity for learning from your mistakes.
It’s great that you want to pursue the position of valedictorian, although I’m a little surprised there is such a thing at a non-ranking school. A lot of schools that don’t rank will not appoint valedictorians or salutatorians either. Therefore, be careful. Don’t bank on names or honors; just continue to always work hard. I should also warn you that it will take a massive amount of effort to go from a 3.3 to the top student. I currently hold the highest GPA in the history of my school and I will not lie: it was not easy. </p>
<p>Your decision to take on several AP classes is also admirable. Try to supplement your resume with more EC’s. Although your current ones are good, many applicants will have these as well. Try to find something you are passionate about; that way, you will have something to really write about for your essays.</p>
<p>Ultimately, I would advise you to keep on working hard toward your goals. If you want to be #1, go for it. If you want to go to UPenn, Princeton, or Brown, best of luck. They may be reaches, but maybe you have something that they are looking for. </p>
<p>Princeton is the only Ivy League that doesn’t consider freshman grades during their GPA re-calculation. Other schools include: Stanford, Vanderbilt, UCs, Michigan-AnnArbor</p>
<p>Unless your highschool deflates grades (which is unheard of), you won’t be your class valedictorian. I’m sure there are kids in your class who have straight As or close to it.</p>
<p>It seems really unlikely that you’ll get into UPENN, Princeton or Brown. </p>
<p>Temple and Drexel are possibilities.</p>
<p>You need to pick up strong ECs, that may help compensate for your overall GPA.</p>
<p>@WhiteTopaz thanks for your response. I’m going to try hard to bring my GPA from 3.3 to about 3.8+ by the end of my junior year by getting straight As in honor/ap classes. In my school being an A in a honor class helps your GPA a lot. Also, I’m going to take a dual-enrollment program for HS/college credits.</p>
<p>While you should do your best and try to raise your grades as much as possible, I’ll be honest with you: you have not been getting As in core academic subjects. Even if you do a lot better, your GPA is not going to be impressive at the most selective schools. Also, those Ivy schools (as far as I know) don’t have Criminal Justice majors.</p>
<p>It is not exactly an average, unless you have the same number of credits each year. Also some schools only counts core course, so getting an A+ in PE may not help in that case. Many schools also skip the freshman grades. Junior grade is more important although it does not have higher weight in the calculation. It will show whether you have an upward trend in GPA as junior would be your last full year grade before submitting application.</p>
<p>while your junior year grades do matter a lot in the admissions process, most schools get a complete transcript sent by your guidance counselors which includes your final averages for all years up to your senior year. I think it is great that you are super determined to make the grade. just do your best for these last years. if you get in, it’ll be worth it and if not, at least you know that you have given your all. ivy leagues, especially for undergraduates, aren’t the only tickets to success in this world</p>