Hello! I know that colleges generally pay more attention to our grades in junior and senior year, but I wanted to know if our freshman year grades are still considered to be important in the college admissions process. If so, how much impact could these grades potentially have? Thanks in advance!
Hi! Freshman year grades do matter, although they might not be as heavily scrutinized as your junior and senior year performance, as those years obviously happened more recently and are thus more directly informative for admissions officers who are trying to figure out what kind of college student you'll be. However, freshman year grades still count towards your overall GPA, plus a strong foundation in freshman year can help set you up for success in the future.
The exact impact depends on the college, but consistently good grades throughout high school, including freshman year, paint a picture of a dedicated and hardworking student. Straight A's at any age will only ever help your chances. If you didn't start off as strongly as you would like, though, that's okay, as colleges understand that freshman year presents unique challenges, and that a lot of growth happens during high school. In this case, an upward trend in your grades would help demonstrate that your mistakes as a freshman aren't indicative of your future performance in college.
Hope this helps!
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