Do some major universities really not count frosh grades?

Applying to College
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<p>I was speaking with a friend recently and was informed that many top universities and liberal arts colleges do not even look at freshman year grades. After hearing this, I was highly surprised. Was all the hard work and stress of getting good grades freshman year pointless?</p>

<p>Does anyone have a list of universities which do not use freshman year grades as a factor in the admissions process? Plus, when they are not a "factor", does this mean the 4 year GPA is recalculated by an admissions office of sophomore, junior, and senior year grades?</p>

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<p>The point is that the grades may be low because of the transition from middle to high school. And it's not like you hard work in senior year matters at all anyway.</p>

<p>UCs don't, only 10th and 11th.</p>

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<p>Stanford doesn't.</p>

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<p>Chicago
Ann Arbor
MIT</p>

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<p>Some California school districts have middle school at 7-9th grade, and high school 10-12. I believe that is why UCs don't count 9th grade.</p>

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<p>Harvard and Princeton doesn't.</p>

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<p>is there any slack for kids who transfer from a normal public school to a really really hard residential school junior year?</p>

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<p>are freshmen grades counted in GPA for like Harvard, Princeton, Stanford...?
I totally bombed freshmen year :( but have been doing extremely well ever since :)</p>

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<p>I don't think UCs count Freshman year. At least they didn't several years back when I looked at their admissions rubrics.</p>

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<p>Ihearteurope- I'm not saying your wrong but where did you hear this? I thought schools like Harvard had to look at freshman grades because of so many people coming in with straight A's all through high school, they can't pick someone lacking those A's in freshman over someone who has them...I heard.</p>

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<p>oh boy my Bs are gonna kill me...if only they didn't count sophomore or junior year either...</p>

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<p>If they don't look at frosh, they obviously don't look at 8th grade ones, right? I got my only high school B in 9th grae. ._.</p>

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<p>Yeah, what I am wondering specifically is whether or not they use the gpa from all four years. I guess if they don't take freshmen year into account, then they would recalculate the gpa.</p>

<p>In response to someone's response, is it really fair to say someone is less academically gifted than another if they have one B in first semester honors english? It's hard to use a grade from that far back as a barometer for success.</p>

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<p>are these like actual written policies or just what most people have experienced? about UC's + harvard not counting frosh grades</p>

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<p>Wait so could we make a list of colleges that don't even consider frosh grades?</p>

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<p>^^ yes I second that! :)
so far we have:</p>

<p>Harvard
Stanford
UCs</p>

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<p>wats a UC???</p>

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<p>^ University of CA</p>

<p>@CNI, Yes, and they only ask for those grades when you self report them on the app for UCs</p>

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<p>Harvard DOES count frosh grades.
Stanford used to not, but they are starting to count them next year.
Princeton might not.</p>

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<p>Man, what if you did your best at freshman year and took overly hard course work for sophomore/junior years >___< I should have stayed a slacker, oh welll.</p>