I did horrible freshman year (reason is external factors that I describe how I overcame in my essay)
I ended with a 1.7 GPA
however since then I have gotten only straight A’s and now have a 3.27 (hard to take honors and APs at my school if you do bad freshman year)
upward trend(on a 5 scale):
F:1.7
S:2.67
J:3.27
S:???(probably high 3 range)
I am a senior now, I have excellent EC’s (including two internships and lots of community service) and since my poor freshman year I have gone on to take 5 APs (I took two last year and got 5’s on both exams) and I am in almost all AP and Honor courses this year.
Will colleges be impressed by such a rapid upward trend?
FYI, I would rethink your essay. It is highly unlikely that you don’t sound like you are making excuses. Any description of your freshman year should come from your GC.
I do not believe my guidance counselor knows enough about my own personal life to explain the reasons that played a factor into why I did so poorly, however they do have the ability to show how I am now contributing more to the school and community than ever before.
Then it was an oversight on your part not to have discussed this. Letters from a neutral person such as a GC carry more weight than one from the person themselves when explaining a shortfall.
And I agree with @Eeyore123, what many HS kids think of as an explanation often comes across to others as making excuses. Often they “explain” how poor their teachers were or how it’s the fault of the other kids in the class. I suggest having your GC review the essay to get an independent point of view if you think the best way is to describe the situation there.
Admissions know that freshman year is full of kids coming into the school from multiple backgrounds and experiences so they are taking a harder look at Junior year grades thinking by then there’s a level playing field in terms of how you compare to your peers. Stanford for instance is pretty up front that they don’t even consider freshman grades. Yes, upward trend is good.