How Important is it for colleges to see an upward trend in grades?

Applying to College
1

<p>My Freshman and Sophomore years were okay. I was in all honors, but only averaged a B+. (Junior year is the first year my school offers AP classes) Then my junior year I got straight A's in 3 AP classes (US History, Biology, English Lang.) and the rest honors. Next year I'm taking 4 more AP classes (Gov., Econ., English Lit., Chem.) with the rest honors and plan on continuing my A streak. My SAT (1870) and ACT (28) are okay but I want to get into the likes of:</p>

<p>Emory Univ.
U of Virginia
Wake Forest Univ.
Coll. of William & Mary
U of Florida
Florida State Univ.
Univ. of Georgia
U of IL Urbana-Champaign
Indiana U Bloomington
University of Maryland College Park
U of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Purdue Univ.</p>

<p>I have really good EC's and a GPA UW of 3.84 currently. </p>

<p>Basically will those colleges ^ like my upward trend and good EC's and accept me although I don't comfortably meet all of their higher SAT/ACT standards? Thanks</p>

2

<p>Pretty much all colleges like an upward trend in grades. As to whether that will overcome average scores, look at the Common Data Set for each and see what weight is given for GPA vs scores. Also you have public Us from multiple states. Can your family afford to be full pay for your OOS schools ($50-60K/year)?</p>

3

<p>They always like to see an upward trend in more rigorous classes.</p>

4

<p>It depends. All colleges want to see an upward trend (or even better, a consistent set of good grades), however if you have been taking a more rigorous courseload each year, then they may forgive some of the lower grades (still strive to do the best possible though). For instance, I actually had a relative downward trend because I started taking some of the hardest courses our school had to offer (I like to challenge myself) and still got into some of my top schools, yet was waitlisted at others.</p>

<p>In your case, what are your ECs that you think are really good? With what you have said so far without any additional information, it looks like many of them are reaches. Remember many of those students who apply to these top schools will have both the ECs and the grades/scores to get in. For instance, UNC, UVA, W&M, Emory, and WFU will be reaches w/o something else spectacular, and even then it never hurts to have great test scores to match those grades (with the exception of WFU which has recently become test optional)</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the response guys,</p>

<p>@Erins_Dad: Yes, luckily my family can afford the OOS cost.</p>

<p>@shawnspencer: here is more info on me from another thread</p>

<p>Hello Everyone, I’m a rising senior who wants to major in accounting, from the state of Florida…what are my chances of getting into UF</p>

<p>GRADES AND CLASSES:
Now 8 AP and 13 Honor courses through grades 9 and 12
Class Rank: 49 of 374 (Top 13%) Go to a “U.S Top 50 Catholic School”
SAT Subject Test: U.S History: 700; Biology M: 600
ACT Comp: 28 (Reading: 31, English: 28, Mathematics: 27, Science: 24, English/Writing:26, Essay: 8)
AP Scores: U.S History: 5; Eng Language and Comp: 4; Biology: 3
SAT: 1870 (CR: 650, M: 600, W: 620)
Weighted GPA: 4.51; Unweighted GPA: 3.84</p>

<p>WORK EXPERIENCE:
Accounting Intern at a broker dealer in downtown Miami.</p>

<p>EC:
National Honor Society (11,12)
Student Ambassador (11,12)
Future Business Leaders of America (11,12)
Varsity Track and Field (10,11, expected 12)
Varsity Cross Country (9,10,11,12)
Travel Soccer Team (9,10)</p>

<p>AWARDS:
AP Scholar (11)
Honor Roll (9,10,11)
Florida Runner A
Varsity Cross Country MVP (10,11)
Varsity Track and Field MVP (11)
Cross Country Rookie of the Year (9)
2 Varsity Letters in Track
3 Varsity Letters in Cross Country
Black Belt</p>

<p>LEADERSHIP:
Student Ambassador (11, expected 12)
Captain of Travel Soccer Team (9, 10)
Captain of Track Team (10, 11, expected 12)
Captain of Cross Country Team (10, 11, 12)</p>

<p>Idk if Hook, but I’m being recruited to run at some of the reach schools on my list.</p>

<p>VOLUNTEERING:
150+ hours</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>