Sudden Jump in GPA?

Applying to College
1

Hello all,

      I apologize for a long post; if you want to cut straight to the chase, you can just read the last paragraph (although it would help me tremendously if you read the entire post).

       I had a very slow start to high school. I didn't have catastrophic grades or anything but I wasn't pushing myself as I should have been. Halfway through soph year, I realized that I was way behind so I really picked up my game. My grades jumped SIGNIFICANTLY almost out of no where and I haven't looked back since. I am now truly passionate about learning but am concerned that my cumulative GPA (that is dragged down by poor early semesters) will prevent me from going to my target colleges. I really want to go to a college that is in the top 25-40 in the U.S; I am interested in Wake Forest (kinda reach?), Michigan (reach), UW Madison, Villanova, and UIUC.



       Here are my semester grades (weighted) to give you a general idea of my trends in grades:

-Freshman sem 1: 89.15 in 6 regular with 1 honors
-Freshman sem 2: 87.71 in 6 regular with 1 honors
-Sophomore sem 1: 89.24 in 5 regular with 2 honors
-Sophomore sem 2: 95.32 in 5 regular with 2 honors
-Junior sem 1: 96.78 in 1 regular (required theology course that is only track 6), 4 honors, 1 AP

-Junior sem 2: 96.65 (required theology course that is only track 6), 4 honors, 1 AP

**-My predicted senior semester 1: 94-95 1 regular, 2 honors, 3 challenging APs

      My cumulative is only about a 92 which I don't think reflects what I am capable of as a student. I did test well on the ACT (31 cumulative 33 superscore) which I think shows my potential as a student. However, I still have many concerns about the college process:

-Will a student with a say a consistent 94 average be considered more highly than a student like me (92 but consistent 96 in recent semesters)?
-Does my huge jump in grades look bad? Does it look like I didn’t take freshman year seriously?
-Will colleges disregard me because of certain poor grades early on?

Thank you all

2

I spaced out my paragraphs while writing this but when I posted it, the format came out all mashed together. I am very sorry

3

First of all I wanted to congratulate you on how well you did junior year after your first two years of high school. Anyway, I think that a lot of colleges will actually admire that you put in the extra effort after you sophmore year. Most colleges don’t really focus on overall gpa but your gpa trends. An upward trend is a good thing and colleges will see that. Hope this helps!!

4

No. It actually looks good, not bad. Additionally, I would not call going from high 80’s to mid-90’s a huge jump. Going from all D’s to all A’s would raise an eyebrow, but your case is fairly typical.

5

Many schools will view your significant jump as an extremely good thing. They are looking for better grades as you progress in high school. The best thing to do is to talk to admissions counselors. Look for schools that view applications holistically. Sadly, because of your early struggles the Ivies are pretty much off limits. Although, a 31 on the ACT makes you an interesting applicant at all of the schools you listed in this post.

Do keep in mind though that money is a huge factor. Getting accepted to a prestigious university is one thing, but actually choosing to attend it is another. For example, U of Michigan OOS cost will set you back over 60k/year. Is getting a 4 year degree worth 240k? The answer is no. Think about attending middle tier schools with good connections.