<p>I went into my freshman year having a really bad Spanish 1 teacher who got fired from the middle school (my school is 6-12). I also dealt with family issues between my parents and ended freshman year with a 2.6 GPA.</p>
<p>Sophomore year I got everything together personally and got straight A's. My 4.0 combined with my 2.6 has me at a 3.312 u/w GPA. I'm taking 3 APs (as many as my school provides) for junior year, and I'm two weeks in with plans to get straight A's this year. On top of that, I'm doing my very best to score high on the ACT and am going for a 34. Even with straight A's junior year, I'll have a 3.5-3.6.</p>
<p>I feel that my EC's are strong and everything else will be squared away by the time senior year comes around. I just don't want to lose my chances at top schools (that I can definitely handle and contribute to) like Georgetown because of a horrid freshman year. </p>
<p>My question is, how can I make up for freshman year? Are there any classes, or anything I should discuss with my counselor to ensure it doesn't ruin me?</p>
<p>I was automatically placed in a Spanish 2 class that I finished with a C since we only learned absolutely nothing in Spanish 1. </p>
<p>Also, I said that I dealt with family issues that took my attention away from school, also causing me to miss 25+ days of school. So, I had B’s and C’s. Sophomore had a huge improvement with a 4.0 and 1 day missed.</p>
<p>Some colleges (such as UC’s, Stanford) don’t actually look at freshman year grades, which would obviously help your case. And if you had legitimate reason for getting low grades (which it seems you did), then that can be explained on your application. Getting high test scores can further solidify the fact that you are a smart person, but who had unfortunate circumstances.</p>
<p>You might want to write a little note to the schools you apply to and explain your situation from freshman year. One thing that will help you out is that your grades got better and not worse and that is what colleges want to see.</p>