<p>Ok this is a play off of Phson01's thread. I have exactly the oppostite problem, i have a rising trend in grades. In my frosh year and first semester of soph year, i got basically all B's. Then during the 2nd semester and now this year (im a junior) im getting straight A's. What excuse can i give colleges for why i was bad back then? I have to be honest and say that it was basically laziness, but i really picked it up last year. What should I say? Also how much worse off am I from a student who got a 4.0 all years? My rank is bad because of this (34/360) but if you just look at the semesters i did/am doing good in, id be val.</p>
<p>Btw: my scores arent that bad, but when you look at schools like HYPSM, they are not very competative. Thanks for any help you can give me.</p>
<p>Say you were still adjusting to the rigors of high school life back then; since then, you've matured and have fully grasped the importance of embracing academics. Was there something significant (a great teacher, class, life experience, etc) that occured between first and second semester? Dig deep and find a plausible reason for this sudden surge in passion. Show that you are now motivated, deeply involved in school, and will continue this successful path in college.</p>
<p>Congrats on the upward trend.</p>
<p>No offence, but why do you need an "excuse" to explain an upward trend? It's a good thing. Having an upward trend isnt really a problem... </p>
<p>I have the same situation, and wrote in my personal statements as if it was the end of the world getting a lot of Bs freshmen year, with 2 Cs. After speaking to my GC he told me how I shouldnt over emphacize it because it'll just make me look worse. He said it's more important that I already showed growth through my grades, and got 4.0s since sophomore year on. Over exaggerating the situation will make you sound like a phony, because it's all Bs, not like you got all Ds and Cs.</p>
<p>Yeah don't worry about it. I have the same kinda upward trend. Although it's not as strong as straight As, it's the second best thing. If anything it makes you look a bit human, which a lot of colleges kinda like. You really don't have to go out of your way to explain Bs - they understand it takes some people time to adjust or whatever. What's important is that you're doing really well now.</p>
<p>ok so we dont really even need an excuse? great, cause i dont have one. how much worse off are we "risers" when compared to straight 4.0ers when it comes to elite colleges? i mean my rank is really bad for those top schools (34/360)</p>
<p>btw i only said excuse so it looks like Phson01's thread (its kind of a joke)</p>