<p>...for colleges such as MIT, Stanford, and Cornell University?</p>
<p>Here is my trend for 5 terms/semesters:
Freshman T1 UW: 89.50 W: 89.50
Freshman T2 UW: 90.83 W: 90.83
Sophomore T1 UW: 84.13 W: 84.80
Sophomore T2 UW: 90.86 W: 91.37
Junior T1 UW: 98.28 W: 99.84</p>
<p>I don’t think they are necessarily ruled out just yet. You are on a great upward trend, maybe you can write an essay about it. Schools love that.</p>
<p>At Stanford at least, freshman year does not count I think. So Stanford will see 84 (simply bad for those schools, assuming an average school), 90 (below average), then 99 (above average). So, right now, you are a below average applicant at all those schools. But if you get another 99 junior and T1 senior year, you will be an above average applicant in terms of grades. Now, if your high school is one of the top nationally (one that sends about 2% of students to HYPSMC), you will be an above average applicant overall with those 99% (and with those grades in difficult classes, you should get some great teacher recs). </p>
<p>I really don’t think you could write an essay about it, though. You actually go down sophomore year, and your freshman grades aren’t terrible (some people ace freshman year, but some very qualified people-including myself-also struggle a bit). Writing an essay would be a good idea if you had something that required a ton of time (family issues, illness, etc.) or if you go from like Cs to As because of a changed mental outlook. But it is normal (and thus not good essay material) for a student to go from B/B+ to As.</p>
<p>You can absolutely write an essay about it. Do what I did and pick up a bunch of EC’s as well so you can say how you “buckled down” and started taking school a lot more seriously. I got feedback from colleges I submitted it to. They really liked it.</p>
<p>@Senior0991, the school I go to is ranked 67 in the USNEWS best high schools. Only about 1% get into those schools.</p>
<p>I plan on getting a 99% GPA, if not higher for the remainder of my high school terms. I really hope that helps. The reason why I’m getting better grades is because of a “changed mental outlook.” Also because I take/will take ap classes in subjects that I’m good at.</p>
<p>@Somewhere2012
I’m not really sure if I should write an essay about that but if all else fails, I will surely go with that. </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice Somewhere2012 and Senior0991!</p>