<p>Hello fellow CC'rs! I am sure that this question has been asked numerous times but I still have not received a concrete answer yet. I hope that you will not hold it against me for asking this question yet another time. I am a freshman in High School and I had a decent first semester grades of 95-96 in the most rigorous classes possible. (all honors.) However, I am afraid that my second semester grades have dropped a couple points, so I am expecting a something around a 93-94 as my final GPA for freshman year. As you can see from the title, my dream school is Princeton University and I am wondering if they will look down at this drop in my freshman year. I plan to take the most rigorous classes possible throughout my high school experience and I have a wide array of extra -curriculars. I have heard that some people say that Princeton does not use your Freshman year grades to count for your GPA. Can someone please advise me on this topic? Thank you for your taking your time to answer my questions!</p>
<p>There is way too much territory between now and when you apply to whatever schools you choose to apply to to worry about what may or may not get you into a single dream school. Keep doing your best, don’t worry about every bump in the road, and your hard work will pay off in some rewarding way, if not at Princeton, then at some other equally great school.</p>
<p>You’re a freshman, don’t worry about college until the start of your Junior year. I know you’re excited, trust me, I was too. But all this site will do to you is stress you out and make you feel inferior. I’ll offer a few tips that I wish I had when I was a freshman:
- Enjoy high school! Hang out with friends and join clubs. It’s as fun as you make it.
- Study for that test and don’t procrastinate. A few hours of Netflix is not worth it if you’ll do poorly on a test.
- Find something you’re passionate about. Music? Great! Enter some competitions and work your way to states or nationals. Athletics? Keep working hard! Writing? Enter competitions. Maybe write a book?
- Take the SAT/ACT in the fall of your Junior year. You don’t have to report all your scores to colleges (no way they can verify you did) so it’s worth the practice!
5)Come back to this site in the start of your Junior year. It’s an invaluable tool for navigating the admission process but does no good before then. </p>
<p>Edit: I don’t think Princeton even looks at your Freshman year grades. Don’t quote me on that and make sure you research it.
Also, Princeton might not even be your top choice anymore. When I was a Freshman, Columbia was my top choice but now it’s my third choice behind Yale and Harvard. I would do more research into some schools before saying Princeton is your top choice. You never know what you might find!</p>
<p>I had an 89 in my freshman year at a non competitive school and was wait listed at princeton so don’t worry.</p>
<p>Thank you for your kind replies. How much does it matter that they might have dropped a little, though?</p>
<p>Seriously? It will matter a huge deal. Probably make all the difference in the world. I’d start thinking about trade school. Why would you ask such a silly question. </p>
<p>@Pianology23, it doesn’t matter at all. Please take the advice of the other posters here. And PLEASE get off of this website. It will do nothing but stress you out and potentially rob you of your enjoyment of the next 3 years. Those 3 years are equally as valuable as any time you will spend on any college campus. </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
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<p>They, along with other school like them such as Stanford, lie. P’ton uses Class Rank as an admissions consideration. Class rank includes Frosh grades. So…</p>
<p>But not to worry. Admissions to tippy top schools requires something other than all A’s. Do you best in the classroom and get passionate about something in HS.</p>
<p>Good luck. </p>
<p>My son is a student at Princeton. While your freshman grades may not be that important, you should try to stay consistent throughout high school. A red flag could go up if you receive single grade that is low-(i.e.-he was told one B can raise an eye brow…) Also- while taking a heavy course load is imperative, it wont kill you to back down a bit, take a class that really interests you, even if it doesnt look spectacular on your transcript. My son took a rigorous schedule all four years (10 Aps by the end) but also took Pottery for three years. He loved it and it really helped with stress. He is an athlete at Princeton also-was told pottery shows a different side of him…
Enjoy high school, find one thing that can be your “hook”, your passion. Trust me, there are plenty of kids w 2400 SATs and straight As who arent getting into Princeton. Make yourself interesting and… learn how to really speak to adults, (it also helps in life!!). I have a feeling if you relax and enjoy your studies and extra curriculars, this will happen on its own. One other tid bit that a guidance counselor shared w my son- take the PSATs seriously-National Merit kudos looks nice on your resume and will give you confidence going into your SATs. Last-remember, there are lots of amazing schools out there…when my guy was a freshman, it was Harvard or bust…and now hes wearing orange and black. Good luck</p>
<p>Thank you very much @onerunsonelaxs </p>
<p>Do they even look at trends between semesters?</p>
<p>I don’t think it would matter at all because isn’t a 93 still an A? I’m not sure I understand how your school weights GPAs. </p>
<p>@SneakyWalrus our school does not weigh GPA. The way it works is that a 95 is an A, 85 is a B and so on, so a 93 is an A- </p>
<p>A lot of the time, freshman grades are disregarded. Use this as a lesson for how much of a courseload you can handle, and adjust for future years. </p>
<p>Princeton (like most schools) loves an upward trend too, so if your grades go up this can even be a plus.</p>