<p>Hello Everyone :)
I used to do to middle school in an Italian public school, and therefore all subjects were taught in Italian. Then, for high school I moved to a British international school. The problem was that I basically did not speak a word of English. I had to get a tutor to improve and I had no time to think about other ECs, since I was having around 10 hours of lessons per week (I only managed to do ~50h of community service). Furthermore my grades were not brilliant in my first term for this reason (4.60/7, which is something between a C/B); however during the last term I have been able to get a 5.78/7, which is really close to an A (6). Will I be heavily penalized for this if I decide to apply?</p>
<p>Freshman year matters a lot less than other years, and you seem to have a good reason for your grades dropping. If you overcome this and get almost straight As from now on it will be beyond awesome. I don’t think you will be heavily penalized; I do think this challenge and experience makes you a more interesting person, not just for MIT admissions. Do your best. Good luck.</p>
<p>Seconding what lidusha said. A language change is a perfectly reasonable reason for your grades to drop. Definitely make sure to mention it on your application. You’ve already shown steady improvement and hard work.</p>
<p>You have a lot of time left to develop interests and EC’s, as well as develop an upward trend. work hard the rest of high school and you’ll be fine :)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone 
I was really worried!</p>