Will colleges honestly take into account my freshman year?

<p>Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this.</p>

<p>So my freshman year gpa is not so good. 2.83 first semester and 3.0 2nd both uw. During my freshman year I faced a few problems. I started developing anxiety problems and severe stress problems. I was not adjusting well to high school. I wasn't making friends that easily and constantly felt lonely. Some nights I would cry myself to sleep. In addition to all these things my grandma has dementia and is schizophrenic and for a while she had to live with me and my family. It was difficult. Second semester I started working on improving myself mentally because I know things can get better, causing my grades to go up slightly. </p>

<p>After the summer I really got myself together and I became 110% better. First semester of sophomore year I got a 3.71 uw (not allowed to take honors classes unless you get 3.5+ gpa) and second i did even better! 3.86 uw. In addition to all these things i had done 60 hours of service with key club, jv tennis, was in band, and part of the school newspaper. </p>

<p>During the summer between soph and junior yr I volunteered 3 days a week at a retirement home for 3 hours each day and went to summer school (I got to summer school every summer). Now its junior year and currently i have a 4.33 gpa w (may go up to 4.5), still in band, varsity tennis, on the newspaper, a president of a newly founded service club, and a leader in another club. In addition to this I'm part of this program where we teach middle school students leadership skills. </p>

<p>I don't know what my SAT will be yet, but assuming its going to be good, would you say I have a shot at any highly selective colleges or ivy leagues? I mean I know my gpa is going to be my weak point, but would they care why it's so low? Would they care about my inner struggles or my growth? </p>

<p>i know my issues arent as important as others :/ im sorry my question is so long, but i feel as though each of these details are important. thank you so much!</p>

<p>I hope they don’t take freshmen year too seriously. You seem to have grown into a wonderful student, and that growth is very welcomed and taken into account. I personally didn’t do as well as I liked my freshman year either. But honestly, freshman year shouldn’t be one’s strong point, right? To answer you, there’s no way around them looking at freshmen year, but they are looking for your strengths and those will be quite noticeable. </p>

<p>Do you mind chancing me? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1580321-applied-biology-w-pre-med-mind.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1580321-applied-biology-w-pre-med-mind.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I would definitely include your freshman year difficulties in your essay. It will explain why you didn’t do as well while still showing you persevered through your difficulties.</p>