Do upward grade trends look good?

Applying to College
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<p>I was wondering if upward grade trends are attractive to colleges compared to a student that maintained a stable A all throughout high school. In my case, my GPA was a 3.7 freshman year, 3.3 during sophomore year (unfortunately, chemistry brought down my grade a lot) and I'm currently in junior year. So far, I've aced most of my tests this year and plan on having a much higher GPA through more effort and dedication. </p>

<p>I also took slightly challenging classes, such as Honors Bio during freshman year (A), and AP US History during sophomore year (A-). This year, the only challenging classes I had offered to me was Physics, which I am doing well in so far. </p>

<p>If I maintain a 3.8 or above this year and senior year, will I have a chance at a school like NYU or USC? Maybe even UCLA?</p>

<p>As for the SATs, I'll be taking them for the first time in October and I've been preparing since this summer. Based on my practice tests, I expect a score around 1650. (This is my first time taking it, and I plan on improving a lot more before senior year starts.. hopefully in the 2000 range)</p>

<p>My extra curricular activities include: </p>

<p>-Violin (Youth orchestra since 9th grade, private lessons since 3rd grade, multiple performances including several recitals, festivals, and a recital at Carnegie Hall)
-President of Diversity Club in high school since 10th grade
-Tennis Club member since 10th
-Co-Editor of the school newspaper
-Key Club member since this year
-Volunteering at my local hospital</p>

<p>I might also join the student council as well!</p>

<p>And since I know affirmative action can be influential for admission, I'm Japanese and Bengali & both of my parents are well educated (dad is a medical doctor, mom is a medical lab tech) and our income is above $400k a year. I have been told I'm a strong writer too so I hope to use that as an advantage for college application essays.</p>

<p>Anyone want to chance me for NYU, USC, and UCLA?
Thanks!</p>

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<p>Come on, guys… help me out!</p>

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<p>consistent strong gpa > upward trend > downward trend.</p>

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<p>By law, not at UCLA.</p>

<p>Bumping guidelines: </p>

<p>Don’t bump the day you post your thread.</p>

<p>Thereafter, bump once every 24 hrs or if your thread is off the first page.</p>

<p>Finally, Chances belong ONLY on the Chances forum.</p>

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<p>Well actually I heard being Asian (even though it is an Asian mix) and high-income would be more a disadvantage than an advantage…</p>

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<p>Why is being Asian with a high income a disadvantage?</p>

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<p>In a word, diversity. </p>

<p>Some schools have an upper limit on the number of Asian admits, so Asian students compete against each other for those slots, and the scores and coursework required are higher than for everyone else. (I’m not saying this is fair, it’s just how it is.) So Harvard, for instance, won’t let its classes be more than 20% Asian, even those those rejected have higher qualifications than say admitted Hispanics, African-Americans, or non-Jewish whites.</p>

<p>The one way to avoid this is to apply to some schools that have lower Asian populations. Because Asian parents seem to have this fascination with HYPS, the applications tend to stack up there. However, there are some top rated schools, particularly the elite LACs, that don’t have large Asian populations and you won’t wind up being subjected to the unofficial, but it does exist, maximum Asian cap. (For instance, Carleton (#7 US News), is only 8% Asian. Williams (#1), is 10%.)</p>

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<p>I wasn’t sure how to interpret your earlier sentence about race and income, whether you thought it would be an asset or liability, so I didn’t address it.</p>

<p>The term URM stands for Underrepresented minority, not just minority. And the underrepresented means underrepresented in college compared to the general population. Many Asian backgrounds are overrepresented in college compared to their abundance in the general population. There are exceptions, such as recent immigrants from SE Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam, etc.). And as MrMom say, it varies with the school.</p>

<p>Income can be an advantage for need-aware colleges and families that can afford to pay full fare are more readily able to apply ED.</p>

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<p>Interesting. So if I want to apply to a school with a high population of Asian American applicants, I should just exclude my race when I apply to improve my chances?</p>

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<p>Hadn’t actually thought about that, but that could work. Of course, if you interview, it’s pretty obvious, but I don’t think they’re allowed to “assign” you to a category based on either your appearance or your name.</p>

<p>This is an angle I hadn’t thought of. Don’t know if it would work, but it’s certainly not unethical. You aren’t claiming to be anything, which isn’t the same as claiming to be something you’re not.</p>

<p>However, given that the whole Asian quota thing is never admitted to, even though it’s obviously there, I wouldn’t put it past some schools to assign you to that pile. Not that you’ll ever know. The only way to test that would be to put in two apps with two different boxes checked, and that’s just impossible. Still, I’d love to do it just to see the results.</p>

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<p>If only I knew if my race could be the deal breaker or not… I guess we’ll just have to see. I’ll apply to NYU early with my race on the application so there’s not much of an “Asian competition”. I don’t mean to divulge stereotypes, but I think most Asians would apply to the Ivies early instead of NYU, thus leaving the early application spots open for nyu. Again, that wasn’t meant to be insulting!</p>

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<p>Getting back to the original question, I agree generally with entomom:</p>

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<p>However, OP states that junior year classes are easier than sophmore year. I would thing this discounts any advantage gained through higher grades. Schools like USC, UCLA and NYU assume that applicants will take the most rigorous courses available.</p>

<p>I would suggest adding more challenging classes next semester, if possible. If you don’t it will appear that you hit your ceiling sophmore year and can only succeed if you take easier classes.</p>

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<p>I’m honestly terrified to even apply to any of these colleges.</p>

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<p>Make an appt w/your guid counselor and ask him/her if others with similar academic achievement to date have had any success at these schools. Does your school use naviance?</p>

<p>No need to be terrified if you can develop a solid list of great schools that will likely accept you. Reach schools should never terrify anyone-- because no logical person should expect getting into them.</p>

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<p>What is naviance?..</p>

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<p>What is google?</p>

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<p>Something to keep in mind that the UC’s have their own GPA calculator. My own daughter’s UC GPA is much higher for the UC system than the private schools (they don’t count freshman year, only A-G qualifying courses and they only factor in 8 semesters of honors credit.) Sophomore and Junior Year will be key for UCLA. </p>

<p>Don’t be terrified. There are tons of great schools that will want you even if you had a rougher year.</p>

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<p>First I agree with: consistent strong gpa > upward trend > downward trend. </p>

<p>Second, your background is your background. Be proud of it and don’t over-analyze what it does for your chances. </p>

<p>As for a low grade like chem, look at why you did not do as well and what you learned. How did you apply those lessons to get on your upward trend? Think about how you can express that in your application.</p>

<p>By the way, conratualtions on your accomplishments.</p>