Hello! I was wondering whether an upward trend or consistent grades are favored in college admissions, assuming both students have a similar overall gpa.
For example: If two students have a 95/100 average who would be favored?
Student 1- consistent, around 95 average all 4 years
OR
Student 2- lower grades freshman/sophomore years but very high grades junior/senior years
Both have relatively same number of APs and similar SAT scores
There is no such thing as everything else being equal.
And let’s be real, a student who ends up with a 95 average did not start with a 70 average. An upward trend from a 90 average is really not what admissions means when they say that they consider grade improvement.
I mean starting from around say 85 btw I’m referring to weighted averages
Colleges love students who start out strong and follow through.
But a student who has a rocky start and finds their way can present really well too. Colleges understand that the student they are admitting is the senior, not the freshman.
But none of this is a head to head comparison.
The whole question is unhelpful to you, no matter which of those positions you are in (though I have a guess as to which you are).
As @skieurope said, all other things are never equal, even if the more objective, quantifiable APs and SATs are, and the observable ECs are also comparable. There are still LoRs and Essays, which carry a lot of weight- and your will never know what your counterpart had in them, so you will never know what tipped the balance when one of you gets in and the other doesn’t. Or why both/neither of you got in.
But dwelling on it will never make it feel any better- so don’t! You walked your path and the other student walked theirs. With a 95 GPA both of you are well able to be successful in whatever college feels you are the right fit for them.
My daughters got a B freshman year, it took until the second half of senior year to hit 3.9, so I don’t know how an 85 gets to a 100.
Consistency at 4.0 is the best. For < 4.0, upward trend is generally better than downward trend.
like @skieurope said there’s no such thing as being equal but I’d say AOs like both. Upward trend gives that student who made a mistake earlier in high school a chance to be looked at as equally the kid who was consistent all the way through. Id say the more important trend is in increasingly difficult courses in ones subject. If the poor grade was made in say first AP course and then after that showed improvement that one poor grade really wouldn’t matter because have shown growth. Also showing upward trend throughout years reflects growth. And my last thought is if the poor grade occurred during covid lockdown/zoom school or anything related it could easily be explained away. The AOs are real people who understand and now more than ever really take the time with transcripts to figure out the story behind the grades.