<p>Let me explain, because it's hard to phrase this in one simple, worded question. Freshman year I had mostly B+'s, a few A-'s (with basically the toughest possible courses, except Spanish CP). Similar for sophomore year. This year, my grades look like this: (my 1st and 2nd semester grades are basically the same, as follows)</p>
<p>Honors Chem: B+
AP Stat: A
AP English Language: A
Honors Wind Ensemble (Honors because I fufill such and such requirements, keep a portfolio, etc.): A
Spanish 4 CP: A-
Honors Pre-calc: A
AP U.S. History: A</p>
<p>So, basically, I'm doing a lot better this year than the two years before. How much will this help? Will colleges see me as the student I am junior year? The one I was for the previous 2 years (Mostly B+'s)? Or somewhere in between? I'm always told by guidance counselors, teachers, etc. that showing progress is important, but I'm worried about how colleges will see this, especially some of the ones I'm starting to look at (WashU, Wesleyan, Middlebury). I'm not really wondering how my grades would compare at these specific colleges, but rather how much growth helps for admissions, and if so, how high I should reach for schools. (I.E. will my grades look as good, better, or worse than someone who got such grades every year?).</p>
<p>Sorry for rambling. Thanks for any responses. :-)</p>
<p>I think it’s hard to say precisely how each school will view your record, but an upward trend is a positive thing. Congratulations on the improvement–keep up the good work.
[What</a> Grades Do Colleges Look At? - Ask The Dean](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000195.htm]What”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000195.htm)</p>
<p>Oh, cool, thanks. I’ve never even seen this “Ask The Dean” feature.</p>
<p>IM IN THE EXACT SAME SITUATION
im a hs junior and my GPA this year went up 9 points from the past two years. it kills me because i know i could have done better and could get into really good schools if i stayed consistant with my gpa this year.</p>
<p>but the good news is almost every college will let you sent in an optional supplement which you can describe anything you’d like to about your preformance in hs. think of why you didnt do as well as an underclassman and talk about how and why you’ve improved.</p>
<p>“but the good news is almost every college will let you sent in an optional supplement which you can describe anything you’d like to about your preformance in hs. think of why you didnt do as well as an underclassman and talk about how and why you’ve improved.”</p>
<p>Will I encounter this during the admissions process or will I have to find out about it with outside research?</p>
<p>Most college applications include a place to explain anything that isn’t covered elsewhere. You may also be able to write about it in an essay. The non-forum part of the site has a lot of good information (like “Ask the Dean”) so it’s worth checking out.</p>
<p>You’ll read that colleges have a favorable view of a rising trend, and it’s true. But the big problem you face is demographics. There’s just too many kids applying these days thanks to the “echo boom” as all the baby-boomers kids apply to college. The top colleges have about the same number of places they always have, and now they’re deluged by great applicants. Sure they can take someone with a rising record, but instead they can take someone who has always done well. It’s not fair, I’ll agree, but that’s how the game works.</p>
<p>I write this because you wrote about “how high should I aim”. I want to caution you against a trap that a lot of kids fall into. They spend their time researching, visiting, and applying to reach schools. Nothing wrong with having a dream, mind you, and the schools you listed are great schools. But the top schools reject 80-90% or more of their applicants.</p>
<p>What I suggest is focusing your attention first on finding a safety that you can love, and next on schools that are matches. Only after you have a portfolio of fine schools that you are from a decent shot to a lock to get into should you start looking into the reaches. This is the opposite of what most kids do, and every spring you’ll see anguished posts from kids who applied to a safety as an afterthought and now its their only option. It takes courage to swim against the tide, and I’m not suggesting that you give up hopes of attending a school like Midd. I’m suggesting you adopt a better approach.</p>
<p>Too many kids are “brand shoppers” and want to go the same places everyone else does. A great article about this herd mentality is at <a href=“http://■■■■■■■.com/dg9nd[/url]”>http://■■■■■■■.com/dg9nd</a>, and in fact I highly recommend you read the book it comes from, “Admission Matters”. What I suggest you do this summer is think about what you find attractive about schools like Midd or Wes, then spend time to find schools that offer similar environments but are not as super-selective. A great book for small colleges is “Colleges That Change Lives” by Pope. Only after you’ve built this base should you spend time on the most selective colleges. This isn’t the way most people do their admission search, but its the one many people wish they had done once they get older.</p>
<p>Maybe I wasn’t clear, the schools that I listed were much more of an afterthought (or should I say towards the back of my mind?). I’ve already picked out plenty of more reachable schools (e.x. Reed, Skidmore, American) that I like a lot, but I was noticing that my grades were matching many students who I know go to the caliber schools that you mentioned - not to mention I am pretty confident in my standardized test scores, EC’s, and the works. Thanks for the advice though. The process you spoke of tends to be contrary to first instinct, but I’ll (hopefully) be thanking myself later for it.</p>
<p>I should add that at the most selective schools they look at your total application. Grades are just one part of it; they also look at your SAT, recs, essays, ECs, etc. So while a poor GPA can put you out of the running right away, a good one just keeps you in the hunt. The OP’s grades and courses show that he can succeed at a top college; its just that with so many qualified applicants they have to make a choice somehow.</p>
<p>What’s realistically left for the OP to influence are essays and SAT. Its worth spending some time studying for the SAT to shore up any weak areas on practice tests, and really crafting the best essays you can. Note that WUSTL is also BIG on demonstrated interest.</p>
<p>(edit) I saw you replied while I was writing this. You have nothing to lose by applying to reach schools, so by all means you should. Although I strongly recommend reading thru the article I linked to earlier. Also now would be a good time to have your parents fill out one of the FAFSA estimators on the web to see what colleges are going to expect them to contribute and to make sure they’re ok with it. This is a source of unpleasant surprise to many kids in the spring, when they get into all these schools they’d love to attend and then find out their parents can’t/won’t pay for them. Now is when there is still plenty of time to look for schools known for generous merit aid.</p>