<p>I have two daughters. One of which is right now in Cornell University. But she worked really hard to get there with her grades. </p>
<p>My other daughter is just a freshman in high school. She always wanted to go to NYU. She's going to be a sophmore next year. However, her grades in her freshman year were awful. They were basically all C's. She got them because she was deeply affected by the multiple deaths in our extended family this year. I'm sure, shes going to do great in her sophmore year. But, do you think since shes already done so bad her freshman year, that she still has no chance in the top schools? Since most colleges only look at Freshman, Sophmore, and Junior year?
Please be honest with me, so I would know how much to push her. Thank you so much!</p>
<p>The name of the game is upward trends. If she works extremely hard and pulls mostly A's with mabye one B for the rest of her career, I would say she has a great chance. Just have the GC write about why the fall in grades happened. She still has a chance.</p>
<p>yeah if it's for a good reason (like family deaths) instead of just "wellll I sort of slacked off/didn't care," then upward trends will look great. I think her essays can really help tell the story.</p>
<p>But make sure not to pressure her! Good grades are a nice goal, but don't start flooding her with SAT prep, etc. Let her be a kid!</p>
<p>Thank you so much.
You helped alot!</p>
<p>Errol is exactly right, an improving grade trend will look excellent on her application. Not that it's great to start with straight C's, but if she moves up to B+ and A's this year and A-/A junior year, she'll give herself a great shot at NYU. Good luck!</p>
<p>"Since most colleges only look at Freshman, Sophmore, and Junior year"</p>
<p>Not true...?</p>
<p>Some colleges, I believe, like Stanford and Princeton don't even care about freshman year grades. Presumably, others would put relatively little weight on freshman year grades. </p>
<p>Plus, there is also a section on the common app that allows one to explain any extenuating circumstances.</p>
<p>from what i've heard the biggest consideration is on soph / junior grades, although most colleges do look at freshman grades at least somewhat -- with that being said, an upward trend to A-s next year and As the year after would definitely put her in contention, but that will be a lot of hard work ... make sure you don't push her too hard though, i know when my parents do that it makes me want to work less...</p>
<p>sidenote: you should probably make some note in her app. about the reasons for the poor freshman year grades</p>
<p>I don't think colleges put a lot of emphasis on freshman year grades at all. Junior year is the most critical year. The only negative affect that might have is on class rank. In my freshman year I didn't get the best grades in math and it pulled my rank down a lot, but with weighted classes from my sophomore and junior year I made up for it and moved back up in to the top 8% of my class. Also, keep in mind colleges are putting a little more emphasis on senior year now to make sure kids aren't slacking. They want to continue to see a challenging course load and all that jazz.</p>
<p>Yes, she has a chance particularly if her grades greatly improve over the next few years, and the GC explains the reason for her low freshmen grades.</p>
<p>However, I don't think that you should push or pressure her. Make sure that she and your family have the support that is needed (including counseling) after such a difficult year that probably is still affecting everyone, including you.</p>
<p>It's far better to match the college to the student than to try to push students to become what a particular college wants. While NYU may be your D's dream school now, by the time she's a senior, a very different school may be the best match for her. Encourage her to explore a variety of interests, including ECs, so that she can develop into the best her that is possible. After that's done, help her find a college that best suits her and also fits your finances.</p>
<p>I've never tried to quantify this, but here goes:</p>
<p>Senior 1st Semester: 20%
Junior Grades: 50%
Sophomore Grades: 20%
Freshman Grades: 10%</p>
<p>Trending is critical. If a student hasn't gotten there by Junior year, it's too late to prove they can handle a tough college "if they really applied themself".</p>
<p>thank you so much!</p>
<p>Freshman year isn't even considered by many schools. I'm not sure about NYU, but it's really not a big deal anywhere.</p>
<p>I would say:</p>
<p>Senior 1st Semester: 25%
Junior Grades: 60%
Sophomore Grades: 10%
Freshman Grades: 5%</p>
<p>Junior year grades really decide everything...do well that year and nothing is out of your daughters reach.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'd like to reiterate what the other posters said. At some schools freshman grades don't even count, including Stanford and Princeton. NYU will be well within reach for her if she can get her grades up to A's and B's. Especially considering the extremely extenuating circumstances I have no doubt that the admissions officers will give her a pass here if the rest of her application is up to par. However, I'd like to say that she's only a sophomore now so she should keep her college choices open. I wish her luck in the rest of her high school career and hope she feels better!</p>
<p>thank you. its just that for her school, freshman grades are calculated with the average of sophmore year as well as junior year. So her overall average would be very low, because of her freshman GPA even if she goes very well sophmore and junior year. I hope they look at each individual grade, so they know her overall average is not low, its just that her freshman year was bad.</p>