Most threads talk about bad freshman grades or how most colleges don’t care about them. Is their any advantage of having great freshman grades? Isn’t it good to show that you are a solid student performing well consistently?
The advantage of having good freshman year grades is that it gives your GPA a solid foundation for the coming years- in my personal experience, freshman year was the easiest year of classes so it was easier to do well, which gives you a sort of GPA “buffer” for the coming years.
When people say that colleges don’t care as much about lower freshman grades, it doesn’t mean that they disregard strong freshman grades- they just tend to give more weight to jr/sr grades because those classes are most similar to college level content.
Great freshman grades are important, just like any other years grades to student success. Consistency is important and creates a foundation for future success. It can also open doors to recommendations for differing class selections, bypassing potential pre-reqs, opening opportunities that could be of benefit to college applications down the road.
I read that some colleges don’t even count them when calculating their own GPA. Isn’t that unfair?
While there are some notable exceptions, for almost every college freshman grades "count: in terms of college admissions. But each college has the right to weigh different parts of the application, including freshman grades, as it sees fit.
And as to whether it is fair, life isn’t fair. And many parts of the college admissions process reflect that.
Yeah. I’m getting it. It seems that things beyond your control matter more than things you can control.
Of course good freshman grades count and they matter. But a lot of colleges will be a little more forgiving of a rough freshman year. It is a huge adjustment for some kids. Some kids are really immature. There might be 13 year olds who haven’t even really started puberty, and huge 18 year old men who have jobs, girlfriends and beards. There is so much more going on, and a ton of added pressure because college isn’t so far off now. It isn’t surprising that some kids fare poorly in freshman year. Makes sense that some colleges don’t see it as an accurate reflection of a student.
Even for those schools that don’t count freshman year GPA they are part of class rank so they are counted indirectly.
USC’s Dean of Admissions told us that while freshman grades count, they are looked at holistically at USC. He said many adcoms are aware that 9th grade boys are, on average, less prepared for the maturity of HS & that it reflects on their grades. As long as there is an upward trajectory in grades & degree of difficulty in course load, a poor freshman year will be taken with a grain of salt by many colleges that do holistic admissions. The UCs don’t even look at freshman grades for GPA purposes (although if you have Ds or Fs, you may not qualify for admissions – I think I read that somewhere). The point is that UCLA won’t know the difference between a 4.0 student who just had a 4.0 10th & 11th grade vs one who had it 9th, 10th & 11th.
For most of the schools my son applied to, they counted 33 percent.
@SugarlessCandy what things beyond your control significantly matter in the admission process?
GPA. You most likely will not get into an Ivy League school if you have any bad grades. A 4.0 alone is not even enough. Of course, if you have legacy, or your parents donate big $$ to the school, then this changes everything.
So, if your goals are Ivy league, you cannot bomb your freshman year, or really even show struggle. They seek perfection, and there are enough students in the world who have only gotten A’s their entire life, are involved in activities and volunteering, and take every AP class they can. Even if there is 1 at every high school in the world, that is more than enough for all of the Ivy Leagues.
@JustGraduate Well … geographical location, IQ, looks, athletic built, race, family income and expenses, education level of parents and things like that. These factors aren’t in any kid’s control but they matter heavily in college admissions.
@counselingbychristine1 legacy is not the hook it used to be, and there are in a fact plenty of students in Ivy League schools who do not have perfect GPAs. Tippy top school are not necessarily seeking perfection. They are seeking motivated individuals who demonstrate marked ability and intellect. “Individuals” is probably the key word. Plenty of totally perfect students are rejected from tippy top schools.
@SugarlessCandy wow I have to strongly disagree with you on your list and premise
IQ - it’s what you do with it that matters, not the number itself. Know plenty of high IQ kids with surprising low grades and test scores. And plenty of those with just above average intelligence who do very well in school because they’re willing and able to put the work in. IQ doesn’t define who you are.
Looks and build - really??? How does an adcom know any of those characteristics? Build can matter in an athletic sense but just being big doesn’t guarantee success in athletics - again you have to DO something with your size to make it pay off in sports success, not everyone of a specific size/build is coordinated as an example. As for looks, I assume you mean those deemed more attractive are considered better candidates - is that what you’re getting at? How do adcoms know how you look? I’d be truly astonished if there’s anywhere on internal admissions forms that had a box to check for attractiveness…and even then, that could only apply to those students who had face to face meetings, which doesn’t happen at most schools
I could go on and on… By saying things outside a student’s control weight HEAVILY in the admissions decision I think you’re looking for excuses for why your kid doesn’t gain admittance to schools in a process that’s not as black and white as you’d like it to be. Chill out and let your student be the best student they can be. Then let the chips fall where they may. They can still have a fulfilling, useful life if they don’t get into your chosen first choice schools.
And remember - above all life isn’t fair. Learning to deal with that can help your child more than you can imagine.
@SugarlessCandy , what? No. Sorry, but that is totally incorrect. IQ? No college asks for an IQ test. Looks? No. Just 100% wrong, as well as athletic build. Unless it’s a recruited athletes but even then it would be a players ability, not build. Colleges do not ask for photos and plenty of less than beautiful kids are at every college in the country. Expenses? Huh? Not one of those things matters one iota in college admissions.
Nobody asks for IQ or built or pictures or wealth but who can deny that during 18 years, those attributes place a kid in much better position and give more self esteem and gain academic/extracurricular/leadership opportunities to build his resume. Not saying can’t be done without these but they do make it easier.
@SugarlessCandy I’m not cynical enough (yet) to believe the world to be a shallow as you see it
Good for you. I hope you never have to. @JustGraduate