<p>Basically I f'd up my first year and 1/2 of high school. I wasn't motivated, I didn't care about my grades and in general I was incredibly ignorant of the college admissions process. Due to this my GPA at the moment is incredibly low, but due to my work ethic right now and my desire to do well I'm expecting to bring up my gpa to a 3.1-3.3. Basically this would be a huuuuuuuuge upward trend for me and I'm just wondering how much it really helps as people have been telling me that an upward trend really helps.</p>
<p>O yea just some additional information that I’m a URM, black born to nigerian immigrants</p>
<p>Bumpbumpbump</p>
<p>Yes, an upward trend in GPA definitely helps. Are you male? Boys are in shorter supply especially in the liberal arts colleges and being a URM is also a help. Did your parents attend college? If not, that will also give your application a boost.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that a poor first year and a half isn’t going to sink you. You won’t get into the most selective schools, but there are many good schools that will take a solid B student even if he or she had a weak first year or so. Just make your case in your application for the new maturity and perspective that brought about a turnaround in your attitude towards school. A few good teacher recs that supports your case would also help.</p>
<p>yes i am a male and both my parents attended college.</p>
<p>Bumpbumppp</p>