<p>I'm a high school freshman at a small, difficult high school. I just got my report card, and I ended the semester with 7.5 credits of A's, an A- in French, and a B in Precalc. </p>
<p>I had straight A's first semester.</p>
<p>Test scores and extra curricular activities aside (both good), how much will this decline affect my college admissions, particularly at Harvard, Stanford, and Northwestern?</p>
<p>[Please move if this is in the wrong section]</p>
<p>So you have roughly a 3.86 GPA if I have calculated this correctly – or perhaps higher if the 3.86 is for second semester and you had a 4.0 for first semester?</p>
<p>If you can put together a string of semesters with that GPA at the end of junior year, you’ll be in pretty good shape. It’s only freshman year. It gets harder.</p>
<p>Yep, I had a little higher than a 4.0 for first semester, which would average with second semester. </p>
<p>And another note- the school I went to calculated A+'s -very hard to get- as 4.33 (I think). I don’t know if this would go in with my official college averages (on my transcripts it is worth more), but I had one this semester and one last semester.</p>
<p>Would that cancel out the A- and turn the B into a B+? I’m pretty naive with the whole grading system.</p>
<p>The colleges generally recalculate GPA by their own formula. My point is, 3.86 is not too shabby. Especially if you average that in with a 4.0. Now you are somewhere north of 3.9. So good job freshman year. Do it again. And again.</p>
<p>Wow, a 3.86 is great! Seriously stop complaining you still have a great shot. I just finished freshman year and guess what, (drum roll…)</p>
<p>I got a 3.198 (87% average) with all honors and one AP. I also got 2 72’s on my transcript, so talk about a HORRIBLE freshman year. I actually didn’t do that bad compared to some kids though who got under a 2.0!!! You still have a great shot at the Ivy’s and seriously I don’t understand how you did bad at all. I don’t even take PreCal to junior year, lol.</p>
<p>First of all, many colleges don’t look at your freshman year and those who do are often willing to overlook a bad one. But yours is not bad at all; in fact, I would say that it is excellent. A 3.85 GPA will get many opportunities, even at the ivies; of course, much of that is contingent on other areas.</p>
<p>:P</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, I really wish I had done better.</p>
<p>Please, it’s not bad. You have two more years until you apply to college, seriously one B won’t kill you. If it was me, I’d be happy.</p>
<p>“Horrible” is constantly evolving I guess.</p>
<p>You should have nothing to worry about, seriously. Most colleges will overlook freshman year, including Princeton. You will have an abasolutely fine GPA is you keep up the good work. How are you in precal as a freshman? Anyway, if you get just 1 B most colleges should brush it off if you performed well in other classes. Best wishes! :)</p>
<p>Seriously your fine, stop stressing.</p>
<p>Goddamnit, stop bastardizing the English language by describing those grades as ‘‘horrible.’’</p>
<p>freshman year is supposed to be the easiest… the only thing i would worry about is falling apart soph/junior if u already have slipping grades now.</p>
<p>These are not horrible grades.</p>
<p>Those are FAR from horrible grades! If you really think those are horrible grades, you need to calm down. If you are just trying to brag, stop being obnoxious.</p>
<p>i agree with aquarius. those AREN’T horrible grades. and honestly, schools like that are looking at a holistic view. if you’re really intelligent enough to get in, they’ll see that from your ECs, test scores, courseload, etc etc.</p>
<p>DUDE. You took precal in 9th grade.
I’m sure they’ll be able to look past the B.</p>