I took all easy standard classes freshmen year and ended up with a 3.6
Sophomore year i took 2 honors and got a 4.1
Junior year i will probably get a 4.5 with 3-4 APs
Will no honors freshman year hurt me, despite the upward trend in grades and rigor?
I would not advise going from 0 ap classes to 3 to 4. Id take two if I were you, three max (but even that is pushing it. Easy class freshman year won’t help you, but whether or not they hurt you depends on your schools profile. I think your overall rigor for all 4 years matters more. Your upward trend is definitely a benefit.
It depends on the colleges you are thinking of applying to. If you are thinking of Stanford, no, they don’t consider freshman grades. If you are thinking State U, probably not, and the same for most colleges. If you are thinking HYP, possibly.