<p>This is so frustrating. I think I asked about this issue a long time ago - before I submitted my Early Decision app to Duke. At that time, everyone was like “oh thats a great idea!” “i think it really shows how passionate you are and how much you grew over the years” etc etc. These comments raised my confidence (perhaps for the worse) and I was happy about the essay. I also showed it to my teachers and they gave me the same sort of response, so I thought presenting it in my app would significantly improve it.</p>
<p>I agree with what you guys are saying; adcoms see these things all the time and they will def be able to spot the grade trends, etc. What people have told me is that if I were to not submit an essay addressing it, adcoms will think that I am hoping that my poor performance will go unnoticed, which is the exact opposite of what I want them to think.</p>
<hr>
<p>To address mikemac’s points:</p>
<p>Are you sure it would be better to make it a story on how I came to respect and love learning? With all due respect - because I thought of doing it myself - wouldn’t that be kind of corny? Please correct me if I’m wrong. Also, my freshman year was not mediocre. In fact, light years away from it. I had 4 Cs and the highest academic grade I have was a B-. I think I called it “atrocious” in my essay that I sent to Duke 
Note that I have absolutely no intentions of placing the blame on anyone but myself.</p>
<p>I think your idea to recount a talk with my teacher/counselor who compliments me on my improvements is a great idea. Does anyone else have an opinion on this?</p>
<p>I was half-joking about my proposals in my original post - I oversimplified it like I was explaining it to a 5 year old.</p>
<p>Regarding my “I’m not really a first quarter person” comment: I dont think anyone is a first quarter person. We are all learning the grading policies of our new teachers, etc. I didn’t mean to imply that something not so great happend first quarter. I received the highest quarterly GPA I’ve ever gotten in my life, a 3.73, with 4 AP/Honors classes. Now, before you scoff, do keep in mind that I still attend that supercompetitive, 1300 avgSAT public high school. Personally, I do believe that I could have done better. I screwed up. This is why I know my 2nd quarter grades will be much better. And this is why I dont know if I should apply ED II - they wont’ see my 2Q grades. However, I don’t want to apply regular either, because literally 1 in 3 people I walk into is applying to Wash U regular decision - and my god are they qualified.</p>
<p>““Kid who started slow but didn’t give up and look at him now!” is what you want them to be thinking.”</p>
<p>Yes, you nailed it. That’s exactly what I want them to think, but my junior year grades are mediocre at best: 3.3 with 3 AP, 1 hon. I can’t think of a good way to phrase this essay, because:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I don’t fit the steady upward grade trend everyone agrees is awesome. It goes like 2.5, 3.8, 3.3, 3.7. This was because I was forced to take regular classes sophomore year due to my poor freshman grades. Junior year, I challenged myself (apparently too much) and didn’t produce as good a GPA.</p></li>
<li><p>My freshman GPA is TOO horrible. I mean think about it, 4 Cs and a B-. Perhaps it’s so low that my app will automatically get placed in the rejected pile.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>"Stay away from any expressions like “The only reason I didn’t apply ED was because I had mistakenly assumed …” Colleges are looking for people who are self-starters and able to figure out how achieve their goals. A simple phone call or email would have resolved this question, and by saying “I mistakenly assumed” it doesn’t give a good impression of this angle.</p>
<p>I agree. After much thought I decided against that. It really wasn’t my fault though - I called Wash U and they were like “ehh we MIGHT look at it … can’t guarantee it.” Then later I found out that they freakin REQURE 1Q grades. If I knew this I would’ve apped Wash U early decision :(</p>
<p>It’s really hard for me. I have no idea what to do. If you want to read the essay I sent Duke, please tell me.</p>
<p>Thanks very very much for your help.</p>