I took high school classes in middle school and that hurt my GPA- will colleges know?

Applying to College
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<p>My high school offers this program where if you qualify, then you attend the high school in 6th grade full-time but take a mix of high school and middle school classes (there are a few middle school teachers at the HS just for the program). From 6th to 8th grade you take progressively more HS courses, from 2 to 5. </p>

<p>In 6th grade I took Art Foundations and got a B+ 2nd semester, 7th grade I got an A- in Geometry Honors 2nd semester, and 8th grade I got an A- first semester in Drama II Tech. At the end of freshman year I got a copy of my transcript and saw that those grades lowered my GPA to a 3.93 UW (if it weren't for my middle school years I would have a 4.0). I talked to my counselor and she said that those grades stay on my transcript forever, even though I took the classes during middle school years.</p>

<p>I know I can't be valedictorian anymore. But do you think colleges will appreciate the fact that my lowered GPA came from taking HS classes in middle school? Or will they not look beyond the GPA number? If I get all As the rest of my HS career then I am sure my GPA will rise but it still won't be great, I think. :(</p>

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<p>Astoria, my kids both have had the same problem. In middle school they were accelerated in math and foreign languages, and got Bs in the 7th and 8th grades that did pull their high school GPAs down. There was no notification to colleges–they just had a lower class rank than they otherwise would have had. I don’t think it’s a fair policy, because most students get much more serious about their academic work after the age of 13 or so. But it is what it is. Looking on the bright side, if you do very well in your high school years, there will be a lot of A grades to offset those Bs, and I doubt the difference between, say, a 3.93 and a 4.0 is going to be all that material in college admissions. The admissions reviewer will have your transcript available and will be able to see that you’ve consistently received excellent grades.</p>