<p>In freshmen year, my gpa (on a 4.0 scale) was a 2.1. In sophomore year, it was a 4.0. In junior, it was a 4.3. I plan on applying to Michigan and Michigan State. I understand my gpa in freshman year was terrible and I didn't really start doing extra curriculars until sophomore year. Would colleges be forgiving because of the upward trend in grades or would they be more sim pathetic because of the situation I was in (both of my parents passed away that year). And would I still have a good chance of getting into one of those 2 schools, or both?</p>
<p>I guess some other things besides grades would be:
33 ACT
3 Clubs
Volunteer Work</p>
<p>Sorry if this is too long/short or too much information/lack of information. This is my first post.</p>
<p>You don’t have an upward trend, you have a dramatic turnabout. Freshman year is the least important year. Some colleges don’t consider it at all. If there is a serious extenuating circumstance, which you have, then of course it is completely understandable why your grades did not reflect the work you are capable of. All colleges that take into account personal circumstances will be understanding of this situation. Even for kids who just ‘got it together’ this would be a good thing. In my state (CA) there is one set of universities, UC, that look at students holistically, which means they consider every aspect of your application, including essays and ECs and such. There is another set, CSU, that pretty much just look at gpa and scores. So I know that U of M looks holistically and you should have a good chance. I am not familiar with MSU admissions so it will depend. Look at the admission pages, is it a formula? do they have gpa or sat cutoffs? Do they ask for recommendation letters and essays–if so then they look at everything and you should have a good chance at either school. </p>
<p>There are quite a few other colleges you are plenty qualified for as well.</p>
<p>The UC system doesn’t even look at freshman year GPA! For schools that care about freshman year, you can even have your guidance counselor mention your circumstances (which are completely legitimate). I’m sorry for your lesson, but really great job on turning it completely around! You’re in wonderful shape for university.</p>