Does bad first semester of Freshman year hurt a lot?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Hello Im a Freshman right now and I feel like Im underperforming in school because I didn’t adjust to high school well. Im really disappointed myself because my grades are low for me. In middle school I was very successful as I had a 3.97 GPA which is pretty good. But, for now, I currently have 3 As and 3 Bs plus a B for summer school geometry. That is a 3.43 GPA and that is pretty low in my standards. For some reason my grades haven’t been going my way. I think the main reason why is because adjusting to a bigger and new environment with higher expectations can be hard for some people like me. I feel like this semester is a learning experience for me to work harder now that Im in high school. I am open to any kind of criticism to improve myself.

Considering Im doing 2 honors classes and Algebra 2 regular as a Freshman, will my B’s really impact me? I know I can to better next semester and receive around 3.7 - 3.83 GPA. Im starting to adjust to my difficulty in my classes but the problem is we are so far in the year that my grades might not go up to an A. Im confident in myself to improve in the future, but I just don’t want my first semester of high school ruining my chances to my dream schools. I am also doing 3 clubs, American Red Cross, HOSA (competitive medical club) and United Med and im doing Club Soccer.

My dream schools are UCI, UCLA, NYU, UC Davis, etc. Im a Southern California resident and I go to a competitive top 500 high school.

2

The California UC’s do not use Freshman grades in their GPA calculation (only 10-11th grades) but as long as you pass your a-g UC courses you will be fine. Strive for a rigorous HS curriculum for 10-11th grades with AP or IB classes, get more A’s than B’s and you will have a good chance at the UC’s.

Also discard the notion of “dream school”. A dream school is a school that wants you, is affordable and where you can study your major interests.

3

@Gumbymom how about other schools outside California like NYU

4

I am not familiar with other schools GPA/grade policies outside California, so I would suggest you check the websites of each school of interest to find out. You could also do a search of this website to see if any CC poster has put together a list of schools that do not consider Freshman grades and then confirm by checking their websites since schools will update the policies.

5

Most schools will look at all your grades, but that is okay since you’re actually doing very, very well in the grand scheme of things. By now you should be getting used to “the new normal”. If you feel you aren’t, you should talk to your parents and guidance counselor for reassurance. Colleges are happy to see upward trends, so if you continue to move in the direction of getting straight A’s, you will have excellent opportunities and choices in the future. Best of luck to you!