Does freshman year of high school really matter?

<p>Ok so I'm in 8th grade which is the first year of high school where I live. I got a couple of A's on my report card and the rest were B's. Can I still get into an ivy league or any other good school?</p>

<p>Where do you live? 9th grade isn’t quite as important as the others, but always try your best and strive for A’s the rest of your high school career! Plenty of people at great schools have had the occasional B…</p>

<p>Most colleges, and therefore most “good schools,” are not insanely selective. Most people aren’t getting into the Ivy League, just because it’s the Ivy League and many of the colleges have acceptance rates less than 10%.
It’s not the end of the world and of course you still have a shot at many good colleges. The problem is, if you’re a B student as a freshman, how are you going to get A’s in more difficult classes next year?</p>

<p>I live in Canada.
And I will try harder for the rest of my high school career. I could get A’s but I slacked off a lot this term</p>

<p>You got a couple of B’s? No. You will be eternally doomed to a lifetime of cleaning the restrooms and showers of prisons. Community College? Hah! You should incinerate your application now due to your dismal chances!</p>

<p>Okay, sarcasm over. You’ll be fine. Make sure you take a rigorous schedule and get improving grades though.</p>

<p>If you are applying to a UC, it doesn’t. But you should still strive for the best grades.</p>

<p>I would say yes. I know that is really messing up my GPA as a senior</p>

<p>As long as it’s not a horrible bomb. Besides, would 8th grade even count for you?</p>

<p>Looking back on the posts of ninth graders…I’ve come to realize what an idiot I was freshmen year.</p>

<p>The freshman year is not as critical as later grades when you’re applying to college, so if you stumble a bit, it’s not the end of all your dreams. HOWEVER, this is not an excuse to slack or blow off that first year, either; it sets the foundation for what you can push yourself to accomplish later in high school.</p>

<p>I don’t know about Canadian colleges, but US colleges are not going to care about grades in 8th grade, even if your school considers it part of high school. The only issue might be in terms of how your GPA is reported to colleges, and how your GPA impacts your class rank.</p>

<p>Many selective colleges will calculate their own internal GPA, based on only academic classes from 9-11th grades.</p>

<p>If your “8th grade” is equivalent to 9th grade elsewhere, and you graduate after 11th grade, then they will most likely count 8-10th grade. You can get in with B’s, but you best shot is to improve as much as you can the remainder of this year, and keep your grades up. Remember also that they will look at both the rigor of your classes, and your GPA as compared to the rest of your school. If the teachers at your school give out few A’s, and that is shown on your school profile, you B’s will look better than at a school where almost everyone gets A’s.</p>

<p>Just don’t slack off, get good grades this year and good homework habits, it will help when you take harder classes later.</p>

<p>Where I live elementary school is Kindergarten - grade 7 and high school is grades 8-12. But I’m pretty sure that in the US high school is from grades 9-12, right?
And thanks for the good advice :)</p>

<p>Yes 9th grade really matters. I’m a senior now and all the people who slacked off in 9th are really frustrated with themselves now that ranks came out.</p>

<p>Yah, it still factors into your cumulative GPA</p>

<p>Yes, it is part of your cumulative GPA. But you can always improve</p>

<p>IF you want to get in to top, top schools, dont let this be a trend. It is okay to have started where you have but it will be important to show an upward trend and as you will compete with kids with over 4.0 as their GPAs to get in to the very top schools, you need to keep that in mind. On the other hand, there are many excellent schools that would deal with these freshman year grades. Dont sweat it now. Just get on the train and do the best you can do.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind.</p>