<p>On CC or in real life, it seems that an upward trend is important. </p>
<p>I mean to what extent?
Evaulate these situations if you can:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A student doesn't have an upward trend, because he took more challenging courses as the years went on.</p></li>
<li><p>A student doesn't have an upward trend, but has a 95 average. A student does have an upward trend, but has a 92 average. Both have the same courseload. Does that mean that colleges like the 92 average kid better?</p></li>
<li><p>What if you don't have an upward trend, but still got an A average?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The ‘upward trend’ discussion applies only to kids who didn’t do well the first year or two in high school and then showed the above-stated improvement to their grades.</p>
<p>Obviously if you are and continue to be a good student, it doesn’t matter. If your grades decline because you are taking harder courses in jr and sr year, it doesn’t look great, but it’s better than getting all As in easy classes without challenging yourself at all.</p>
<p>And the difference between a 92 and a 95 is immaterial. Focus on more important things.</p>
<p>Top colleges most likely wont like option one. Not because you are taking hard courses, but because there are plenty of students that keep A’s in the hard courses.</p>
<p>For #2, they’ll keep in mind that the second guy got his stuff together, but IMO the guy with the 95 average would have the edge based on GPA alone.</p>
<p>And finally for situation three, that’d be bad.</p>
<p>I had a downward trend. I don’t really understand the concept of an upward trend. Freshman year is the easiest. There usually aren’t any AP classes and, well, it’s only ninth grade. So yeah, taking two honors and three AP classes in my junior year was way more difficult, thus the downward trend.</p>
<p>I don’t get upward trend, either. I mean even if you don’t have a changed courseload, 9th Grade is still the easiest. And why do you even need an upward trend? Lazy students who slacked off, even if it is 9th grade or any year, even if they do have a strong upward trend, shouldn’t exsist at HYPSM.</p>
<p>You’re a freshman! Esmee16, how in the world can you have an upward trend when you have been in high school for only one semester?</p>
<p>“Lazy students who slacked off, even if it is 9th grade or any year, even if they do have a strong upward trend, shouldn’t exsist at HYPSM.”
I think this is very arrogant. FYI, some people may get a wake up call during high school and may turn out to be a better applicant than others.</p>
<p>And having a solid straight A average is better than getting B’s and going to A’s. That’s common sense.</p>
<p>I guess so. I guess it’s because that I have been to a college prep school since 7th grade, so I knew so much about the college process beforehand. I don’t think that there are many students with those resources, so they don’t really understand the college until process 11th Grade.</p>
<p>I think it’s unfair to say that students with par grades freshman year and an upward trend don’t belong at top colleges.</p>
<p>Both of my B’s came during the first semester of freshman year because I wasn’t serious about school (B’s in Algebra 2 Honors and Chem Honors).</p>
<p>Sophomore year I got A’s in chem AP both semesters and a 5 on the AP test. I received an A first semester in calc BC as a junior. Do my two B’s freshman year demonstrate that I don’t belong at top colleges? I don’t think so.</p>