<p>I had a report card all over the place freshman year with F's, D's, C's, B's, and A's. Starting 10th grade, I have nothing but A's and one C and 11th grade its all A's. Will the fact that I didn't take freshman year seriously work to my disadvantage or will it show that I've completely changed and am more dedicated/into school than ever.</p>
<p>This will obviously hurt your GPA and rank, so don't expect to get into HYPS. However, upward trends are favorable and if you keep your act together, you can get into some pretty good schools. Maybe look at the UC's - they recalculate your GPA without freshman year, so you'd be competitive there.</p>
<p>ouch thats gotta hurt</p>
<p>maybe if you can explain the bad grades in freshman year, that'd help.</p>
<p>i disagree...colleges love progress...do you go to a really competitive school that gives college workloads? if so, then colleges know that more or less your grades wont go down...im sure the adcoms will think its great you care and worked hard. if your sats/ sat iis/ aps are stellar it might actually be to your advantage.</p>
<p>Colleges love to see the increase in grades through the your high school career. However, the colleges will be forced to take a person with perfect grades through all of their four years than with a person who messed up one year. Admissions usually looks and sees that it was your freshman year and takes that into account.</p>
<p>Like sishu said, don't expect to get into any top schools.
Unfortunately, ac37's comment is relatively untrue. An upward trend from such poor grades is definitely good, but it would by no means give you an advantage over those who've had good grades all 4 years. But you can still get into a good school where that upward trend will be considered.</p>
<p>The real difference overall between you and a student who received fairly perfect grades all four years is small if your course load is most rigorous. You are clearly capable of high achievement, but for whatever reason chose not to do it. However, that small difference is certainly enough to keep you out of the very best schools, as they have students with 4.0's lining up to be rejected. Small differences become magnified in highly competitive situations.</p>
<p>There are lots of excellent schools, probably not top tier, which will be thrilled to have you. However, I always think students should try for their dream, if the time and money for applications is not a problem.</p>
<p>I see. Thanks for the info everyone. Appreciated.</p>
<p>Seriously, seekinghelp, if you keep your dips to freshman year and one C sophmore year, you could possibly overcome your weak start if your course load, essays, EC's, SAT's, and recs are truly superb (especially at schools like the UC's, Princeton, and Stanford which discount freshman year). You have made it much harder for yourself to become accepted at top schools, but you truly do have a spectacular comeback going on. Your application file will be more complex than the average student. If you have a reasonable (to adcoms) reason for your freshman year lack of achievement, I would include that.</p>
<p>Make sure you have lots of real match schools, and safeties which you would love to attend.</p>
<p>First semester senior year will be very important for you, and you will be watched I would bet more closely than others for a weak finish. You cannot goof-off second semester senior year, at all.</p>
<p>My son had grades like that freshman and sophmore year and then nearly straight As junior and senior year. He got into USC and UC Santa Barbara (out of state), so I would expect it is possible to get into good schools with an upward trend. Can't say about the Ivies that might be hard, but there are many great schools other than the Ivies. Just maybe try to explain the your grades in an essay. My son didn't have an especially great reason for his early bad grades. He was just too social and unfocused, and only slowly developed the drive and self confidence to succeed -- hardly major obstacles but he described his reasons honestly and eloquently.</p>
<p>goldshadow, if you go to a super competitive elite private school, it is true.</p>
<p>apologies goldshadow, misread your comment...i thought you said that getting good grades in high school was by no means an indicator of performance in college</p>