In the additional comments section on my Common App, should I explain my upward trend? Should I describe how I finally got my act together, and was able to ace high school from there on out. Would this be bad to do, because it will bring unwarranted attention to my GPA. My upward trend is
3.6 Freshman year
3.9 Sophomore
4.0 Junior
3.95 Senior
Final GPA: 3.85-3.86/4
You don’t need to explain an upward trend. It’s apparent from your scores. It’s a good thing. Trying to explain would be stating the obvious, and also might make them wonder why you feel compelled to explain it. Are you trying to make them NOT wonder about what was going on in year 9? Your grades are very good, so relax.
The trend is obvious; the reason is not. Unless you would like to qualify your freshman GPA–serious illness, loss of a family member, etc.–then I wouldn’t comment on it, as that would add nothing that admissions officers don’t already know.
I also had a very strong upward trend with freshman year as an outlier among 3.9+ the rest of my HS career (even a bigger difference than yours) and was advised against speaking on my upward trend, as @Lindagaf the scores speak for themselves. Unless there is a very legit reason to speak on as to why your freshman year was worse than your standards then you can mention it in a sentence or two, but otherwise I don’t think colleges will be judging you for your freshman year.
I agree, there is no need to discuss it. If there was a particular issue (ex. illness, family problem) freshman year the guidance counselor, not you, should note it in his/her recommendation rather than having the explanation come from you. Other than that, the improvement is obvious from looking at your GPA and freshman year was hardly a wipe-out. You are not the only student who moved things into a higher gear after freshman year and the upward trend will be noted.