<p>I really screwed up my freshmen year...B average with a C- in English!!!</p>
<p>I am currently a sophomore and I have A/B+'s for this year. (Taking hardest couses)</p>
<p>I will take full IB next year and plan to work my butt off and will most likely get straight A's.</p>
<p>What do top tier colleges prefer: the perfect and constant steady student or a gradually improving one?</p>
<p>Any success stories???</p>
<p>Colleges actually tend to like both, or at least from what I've read. Consistency, shows that you are attentive and can get the job done, while gradually improving ones show your dedication.</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat. I've talked to many people, including my guidance counciler, and all seem to agree that colleges tend to like both. (Though, leaning towards straight excellence.)</p>
<p>But then again, it really depends on who is reading your application.</p>
<p>i don't know much but i don't see how C/B/A could look better than A/A/A.
sure, it looks good if ur steadily improving and there's nothing you can do about ur C's freshmen year. just work ur tail off and dont do it anymore</p>
<p>If I may ask, is it bad to have straight A's, and then get two Bs your junior year (1 each semester, different subjects - math/physics)?</p>
<p>I get it's not straight A's, but it leaves an UW GPA of like 3.9 still for me. I'm not sure, though. It's still a bit >_>. What do you think of this?</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure you just forfeited any chance you once had at getting into college. Have fun working at McDonalds.</p>
<p>I think you still a chance. I got a C in my freshemen year, some Bs. Sophmore year was a bit better(some Bs though). Never got more than a 3.5 for my first two years of highscool... However, I got all As in my junior year and first semester of senior. I got into Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Northwestern, Duke(got off their waitlist). But it depends on your definition of "top school"... if you're aiming for HYPSM then i don't know too cuz i got rejected by these schools. Good luck</p>
<p>class rank and GPA play a big part when college admissions counselors look at your file. If you grades freshman year drop your class rank significantly, then it will have a big impact on college acceptances.</p>
<p>What types of colleges are you aiming for? If you work hard and get good grades the rest of the years, you will be competitive for almost all colleges except the very top 10 or so.</p>
<p>Of course, colleges would prefer the student who has always had top grades. However, a student with a sharp upward trend -- particularly males (whom colleges know often are late bloomers) starting soph year also can have chances at getting into some top colleges.</p>
<p>yeah, I had about a 3.5 freshman gpa (moved, depressed, had surgeries...absent a lot) , last semester I had a 3.8, now I will probably have a 4.0 (soph). If I continue my upward trend, will this be good? I didn't have any Cs, but I had many Bs freshman year.</p>
<p>Also, my class rank was terrible because of these Bs in freshman year, especially the ones in PE (absenses). Luckily, my school is getting rid of ranks next year. </p>
<p>Do I have a chance at the top tier? (Not incl. SATs, ECs, ect)</p>
<p>keep in mind that some schools do not count freshman grades -- and some B's first semester freshman year will be less significant if you have top grades the rest of the semesters.</p>
<p>People get into top colleges with 4.0's, but plenty of people get rejected from top colleges with 4.0's. Your grades weren't bad, and good grades in the next two years can only help. Just don't stress about it <em>too</em> much...even the majority of valedictorians are rejected by top colleges (74% at Brown).</p>
<p>The thing that got me worried is not my grades or its upward trend. Since I got such below average grades in my freshmen year, I took a hit in my GPA and class rank. I'm currently top 30% im my semi-ghetto school that isn't even competitive! Assuming I get all A's this semester (which I am on track) and all of Junior year, I can probably manage top 5% - 10% at the time of application. How will colleges (Hint:HYPSM) think of this? Can I recover?</p>
<p>no you'll be banned for life.</p>
<p>LMAO</p>
<p>what's the point in asking? just study your butt off and get straight As like you claim u are able to! Does it matter now tht you can't change anythnig but the future?</p>
<p>Do your best with what you've got. You can't change history. Freshman years are often discarded.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I really screwed up my freshmen year...B average with a C- in English!!!</p>
<p>I am currently a sophomore and I have A/B+'s for this year. (Taking hardest couses)</p>
<p>I will take full IB next year and plan to work my butt off and will most likely get straight A's.</p>
<p>What do top tier colleges prefer: the perfect and constant steady student or a gradually improving one?
[/quote]
why would top tier colleges pick YOU, a student with lots of Bs and even a C-, over a student who has always worked hard throughout all of high school and gotten all As?</p>
<p>Princeton and Stanford would (assuming the OP gets A's sophmore and junior year).</p>
<p>Obviously AAA looks better than CBA</p>
<p>But CBA looks better than ABC or AAC</p>
<p>:) I have both. A-'s freshman year, A's sophomore year, A+'s junior year. But yeah. I think consistancy is better than an upward trend by a bit, but an upward trend is A LOT better than a downward trend.</p>
<p>Why would you not want all A's?</p>
<p>4.0 > 3.w/e</p>