Freshman and Sophomore year matter?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, I am new to this forum, so please excuse me if I do anything against the forum rules. Thanks!</p>

<p>First my background:
As a freshman, I slacked off.. I did some pretty stupid stuff with friends.. (~3.5 GPA with 2 honor courses)
As a sophomore, I slacked off even more. (~3.7 GPA with 1 honor course)
However, I've come to realize that what I do in high school, especially my junior year, will affect my future..
So i've turned the table and:
As a junior, I've stopped fooling around.. (As of now, If I can keep up this grade until the rest of the year, I will have approximately 3.8+ unweighted GPA with 4 AP courses and 2 Honor courses.)</p>

<p>-If you've stayed with me this far, I want to take time to appreciate your trying to help me. =)</p>

<p>Now my main question is:
Will my two years of slacking in freshman and sophomore years affect me greatly in the college application process? I am keeping straight A's in my junior year.. But I am worried it just might not be enough. I think I can manage a 2100 at least on the SAT's, and 800/700~800/700+ on the three subject tests I will be taking before ED.</p>

<p>Help!
Thank You!</p>

2

<p>If you can continue to improve your grades through your senior year, and do pretty well on your standardized tests, you should have a fair chance at any number of schools. A 3.8 unweighted GPA is not bad in any way.</p>

<p>The real question lies in your extracurriculars, essays, recommendation letters, and intangibles.</p>

3

<p>just sophomore, for the uc's yes since uc gpa = (soph+jr )/(2)</p>

<p>for ivies i'm pretty sure its with freshman</p>

4

<p>Thank you both for your feedbacks.
Just one question:
will the courses I took during Freshman and Sophomore years look bad on my application? (Only 3 honor classes, both years combined.)</p>

<p>oo and what exactly does UC stand for?</p>

<p>Sorry if these are basic questions!</p>

5

<p>UC is University of California (there are many), but you're in Virginia so I don't know how much you'll be worrying about that. You could probably put a nice spin in your essays about how you got your act together or something. In-state those stats look pretty good for University of Virginia which is a very good school.</p>

6

<p>ah i see.
Thank you!</p>

7

<p>people have told me most schools really dont look at freshman grades nearly as much as other years, if someone could clarify maybe?</p>

8

<p>Your performance in those two years will lower your class rank, even if you manage to show an upward trend and get better grades now. Even colleges that don't look at freshman grades will see the rank. So go ahead and apply, but remember that it will lower your chances at the top 15-25.</p>

9

<p>your GPA isn't bad, but really if you want to get into top places take all honors courses, it makes a difference.</p>

10

<p>i wasn't valedictorian, but hey, i got into cal !</p>