<p>1) Overall, are middle school and freshman year grades important to colleges? I have four B's from high school level classes in middle school and two B's from my freshman year, but I have continually received straight A's since my sophomore year (I am currently a junior).</p>
<p>2) I recently noticed that my high school transcript includes the number of absences. That is a problem for me, because I have missed quite a lot of school this past year due to an annoying health condition that has developed, yet I do not want to mention my health problems on my college applications because they could interpret it as a sign of weakness. So do colleges generally care about absences?</p>
<p>1) Middle school doesn't matter at all. Freshman year varies with the college, some do not include it in your GPA calculation, others do.</p>
<p>2) I'd guess that they don't care about absences as long as you keep up your grades, but don't know that for sure.</p>
<p>I really don't think middle school grades are relevant unless they are displayed on your transcript. Two credits I gained in middle school are displayed on my transcript. Even then, I am sure they are not as important as your actual high school grades.</p>
<p>I think schools more care about your grades dropping with your absences. If you had 40 absences in one semester and your grades fell, I could see that as a problem.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses so far. But just to clarify, the high school level classes that I took in middle school are in fact included on my transcript and calculated into my GPA. Also, my academic performance overall has been unaffected by my illness, despite the absences.</p>