<p>So my freshman year in high school I received 3 B's and 4 A's making my weighted gpa a 3.786.</p>
<p>Sophomore year I improved and I only received one B and ended up with a weighted gpa of 4.2.</p>
<p>This year, my Junior year, I have gotten all A's every single quarter and currently have a weighted gpa of 4.528.</p>
<p>My overall unweighted gpa is 3.845 and weighted is 4.249. I am in the top 10% of my class.</p>
<p>Will my Freshman year affect my chances by a lot?</p>
<p>Sounds like the makings of a good essay to me. If you can articulate what led you to improve your performance post-freshman year, I don’t think it will have a lasting negative impact. I wouldn’t ignore it, though, in hopes that the Ad Com won’t notice. I’d be upfront and use your impressive recent trajectory to say something about yourself. The Why Swat essay would be a good place to weave this in.</p>
<p>ehhh i’m not sure how much attention you need to draw to that nor how much attention it deserves. it’s not like you almost flunked out freshmen year, you got a few b’s. the chances of <em>your</em> freshmen year gpa breaking your chances are slim to none. don’t waste time in your my swat essay trying to justify the gpa… instead use it to convince the adcoms why you are NOW an awesome candidate and fit for swat and what you would get out of the school.</p>
<p>No, it won’t. I know several applicants who have been admitted with UW GPAs of 3.8. I would not devote your why Swat essay to your 9th grade GPA. Just keep your grades on an upward trend, take challenging courses, etc.</p>
<p>It’s pretty clear just looking at a transcript that you either adjusted to high school or became more focused, don’t sweat it.</p>
<p>I definitely would not write an essay on that. Swarthmore doesn’t seem to be a school that is obsessed with perfect grades all the time. I’ve had at least 1 B each semester in high school and still got in. Just be an interesting person!</p>