Hey, guys, I would really appreciate it if you a replied. I know this is way to early to be thinking about college but I have a question on how I am doing to get into top Ivy League Universities. I am in freshmen year in the IB program and just finished the first semester ending up with TERRIBLE GRADES. I got a 3.88 UW and 4.21 W GPA, with my class rank at 62/638. I know myself I didn’t perform up to my expectations and will work harder from now on. My question is that will my first semester of freshmen year ruin my chances at top schools like Harvard if I start to perform better? Thanks!
No.
^don’t listen to that person! grade-wise, you are doing okay. as long as you get mainly straight As for the rest of high school, take the hardest courses available, don’t get in trouble w the school, have amazing extracurriculars (that you are truly passionate about), have some experience helping others through your passion, get good test scores, and have good relationships w your junior year teachers, you should be fine 
@needtosucceed27 read what the OP’s question was in the final sentence and then @PureShores answer again.
The answer to the title question and the last question are both no. Your grades did not hurt you, but no matter what your grades and scores are, you have very little chance. The plain truth is, too few schools get FAR to many completely qualified applicants. Even if you do everything right, it’s still much more likely that you will get rejected. Do everything that you can to be a fully qualified candidate if you want a chance at a very selective school, but know, then it’s simply a long shot no matter what.
Q: Will I get in to Ivy League?
A: Maybe
Q: My question is that will my first semester of freshmen year ruin my chances at top schools like Harvard if I start to perform better?
A: No
@Smiley10193 your grades and rank are within the admissible range for the Ivy League schools but that doesn’t guarantee anything. The Ivies even reject many people with perfect and near-perfect scores every year. Statistically speaking your chances of making it to an ivy range from 5% to 14% depending on the Ivy. So the odds are against you like they are for most other applicants. Just keep working hard and keep in mind that not getting into an ivy is not the end of the world.
Will you? No. Might you? Perhaps.
At this point it’s too early to tell. Your odds are 1 in 20 as a senior with a 3.7+ GPA, a top 10% rank, excellent ECs, excellent LORs, etc.
The Ivy Leagues accept a teeny tiny percentage of the incredibly qualified applicant who apply.
There are practically NO STUDENTS in the country who are “likely” to get admitted into any particular Ivy, since the admittance rates are so low.
So, sure. Keep up your grades. Become active in clubs/sports/activities that you’re interested in.
And cast a wide net in 3 years. Include Ivies if it looks then as though you could possibly be admitted. But also look at some of the other 3,000 colleges in the country.
Your freshmen uwgpa is fine as long as the rest of your high school career grades continue to improve. But as the other posters have stated, grades alone will not make you standout among other stellar tens of thousands of applicants. Do you have an EC or a sport you are passionate about? In particular, recruited athletes will be that “standout” providing a very significant hook to admissions.
@needstostudy27
That is what I what I said no to. Your academic performance your first year as a freshman does not at all define your academic abilities, so no, it will not ruin their chances. I also agree with you on how the OP should pursue ECs they’re interested in and focus on other aspects besides grades.
Thank you all for replying. Regarding my Ec’s I play flag football, pickleball, and am about to be a black belt in Karate.
- The idea of a “top” Ivy League school is laughable. They are all great schools with hyper-competitive admissions.
- Admissions to these schools is generally under 10% and many extremely well qualified candidates are turned down. There is simply not enough room to admit all qualified applicants.
- Before you can seriously consider any top tier school you need more than one semester of grades and standardized test scores.
Now for some unsolicited advice:
It is good to take school seriously and know that college will be on your horizon, but it is too early to start planning for specific colleges. I would highly recommend that you get off of CC until your junior year. Until then your time would be better spent on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes studying for standardized tests.
–Continuing involvement in activities you care about and working towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Spending time with your family and friends.
When the time comes (junior year) asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be happy to attend. You need to expand your horizons and recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.
This isn’t really true. There is one class of student for whom admission to the school of their choice is virtually guaranteed: the academically well qualified, top tier athlete, of which there are many hundreds every year.
@Smiley10193 Just list of sports would not make it a hook to admissions, they’re just EC’s. If you have one sport that you are good enough to get recruited by an Ivy coach, then it would be a significant boost to your admissions. As sherpa mentioned above, if you are a top tier athlete along with stellar academics, and being being offered a recruitment slot by the coach, then you would have the best chance among the thousands of other applicants to that school of being admitted.
Absolutely. Another category are the bona fide prodigies who also have great scores, GPAs. by prodigies I mean math, science olympiad champions, distinguished researchers, kids who have founded very successful businesses and non-profits. These kids do exist and are extremely likely to get admitted, i would daresay almost guaranteed.
Yet another category are the URM and first-gen candidates with excellent scores and grades and great ECs.
Just get all A’s for the rest of high school. Make sure you have really strong EC’s, because without those, you aren’t going to have much chance at Ivy league. I recommend joining a notable club that aligns with your interest/intended major and then doing your best to place high at competitions. Also, starting clubs or programs with an incentive to bring about good change is also a great way to stand out from other applicants.
Believe it or not, this actually may somewhat improve your chances, provided you get better from here. Colleges tend to want to know that you are human, and to show your better and improved work ethic in the future. Keep working and go for mostly A’s in the future! Good luck!