I started off freshman year relatively poorly (3.5 UW, a mixture of B+s and A-s), but drastically improved in the second semester (3.875 UW). Sophomore year is what crushed me. I took Honors Algebra II and French III in which I received a C+ and B- respectively in the first semester (3.5875 UW). Brought them up to B’s in the second semester (3.625 UW). Both classes were huge jumps for me, and I struggled as a result. Junior year went quite well, 3.9571 UW both semesters including 4 AP classes. I’m taking 5 AP classes next year and plan on finishing the first semester of senior year strong.
I truly adopted a new work ethic when junior year began. Started working out a lot the summer before and I felt like a way better version of myself. I really want to make that clear to colleges too.
Generally, admissions committees are looking for a consistent GPA or a strong upward trend. It seems like you have the latter, which is great. This isn’t going to be detrimental, as long as you create a good college list of safeties, reaches, and matches.
A strong SAT/ACT score will also help “offset” a weaker GPA, so take some practice tests this summer so that you can take the tests early senior year and have them done with (try for scores in or above the middle 25-75% of reported scores for the schools you want to get into).
@sophie9999 Thank you so much! Btw, I’m having a little trouble understanding what the 25-75% statistic means. I often read that the middle 50% range for various schools is 30-34, or 31-34. What does that middle 50% represent? If I’m at a 31 right now (I already took it once without much preparation, and plan to take it again in September), where does that place me in that range?
The middle 50% represent the number of students with that score range. For a school with 31-34, you should know that the 31 represents the lower 25% and the 34 represents the upper 25%. Thus, you should know that 75% of admitted students had higher than 31.
But that doesn’t include those who got above 31 who were rejected either. It’s simply a snapshot of what the admitted student pool resembles.
For you to apply to a school with a 31-34 middle 50% with a 31 for yourself, you should know that your odds are VERY steep – although not impossible.