<p>I had pretty rough freshman and sophmore years academically. I am having a much better junior year and I'm hoping first semester senior year will go well too. If I show significant improvement academically will MIT (and other colleges for that matter) take this into consideration?</p>
<p>yes, but to very little degree. as we all know, high school grades do not matter very much these days because so many people are qualified (most with good grades) to handle the hardcore academics at MIT and other schools. what set you apart (and eventually get admitted to top schools) are recommendations, prestigious programs (RSI, MITE, etc) and competitions (ISEF, Siemen's Westinghouse, National Bio Chem or Phy Olympiad Finalists), and other extracurricular activities that are very non-grade-oriented.</p>
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what set you apart (and eventually get admitted to top schools) are recommendations, prestigious programs (RSI, MITE, etc) and competitions (ISEF, Siemen's Westinghouse, National Bio Chem or Phy Olympiad Finalists), and other extracurricular activities that are very non-grade-oriented.
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Standardized test scores are nice too. The students I know personally who were accepted to top schools this year really did not excel in any of those areas, but it was evident that they "maxed out" the opportunities at their schools by taking the toughest classes, doing well in them, and having strong test scores to confirm it. Also they all did a lot of extracurriculars, as you noted. </p>
<p>Grades are important though... they won't get you in alone, but they can certainly discount an application. To stand a chance (and of course this depends on what you consider "rough years" - I know people who might say that of a B or two) you need to make your junior and senior years very strong academically, especially if you can take AP classes. If you do well in your higher science classes, these schools might even assume you just didn't excel at "busy work" and overlook the first two years. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I am taking the hardest possible courseload at my school. I am taking 5 APs this year and will take 5 next year. I took 2 last year.</p>
<p>I will be taking the ACT in June and the SAT in November...hopefully they will turn out well.</p>