I know there is other important factors that are considered in college admissions but will a good junior year make up for a lacking sophomore and freshman year? I am not talking about if someone had straight F’s, maybe if they had A’s B’s and some C’s. Like a 3.2 GPA after freshman and sophomore year. Would getting straight A’s junior year while taking challenging courses make up for the other two years? Would it now put someone in reach for a more competitive college? This has been on my mind for a while so I thought I should ask. Thanks in advance and sorry for any typos there might be.
Junior in HS is the most important year for college admission. Try to demonstrate the course rigor and the best GPA as it will either show a constant high GPA or an upward trend.
Thanks
bump
My D had a 3.4 after Sophomore year (A’s freshman year, really rough Sophomore year resulting in mostly B’s and a couple C’s.) Moved to a middle college program where she could take more challenging classes (and more classes in general.) Got straight A’s Junior year, applied to colleges with an uw 3.64 (was 3.76 by end of first semester senior year.) She had high test scores, strong EC’s. She was rejected everywhere with an acceptance rate 20 percent and under. Wait-listed everywhere between 21 and 29 percent, accepted with merit everywhere with a rate of 30 percent or higher. She is at private LAC and loving it… certainly wouldn’t have gotten there if she hadn’t had that good junior year.
So, it really depends on what your idea of a “competitive” school is. A good junior year isn’t going to get you into Harvard (unless maybe you are also an Olympic athlete… still a stretch.) However, pulling yourself up to a 3.4 or higher will open a lot more doors.
Thank you