A college-related question

[Shinova]

Let's say you get moderate, perhaps 1 C and few Bs grades for the first semester of your high school senior year, but get all A's for your second semester.

Would colleges see that in a positive light or negative light?

[haas mark]

Positive, however, they will also take into account your SAT/ACT scores.

[neoolong]

Let's say you get moderate, perhaps 1 C and few Bs grades for the first semester of your high school senior year, but get all A's for your second semester.

Would colleges see that in a positive light or negative light?

I don't know necessarily about a cuve that tight in time. But they do see an upward swing in grades positively.

[Sokar]

For most colleges anymore , as long as your average over HS is good and your SAT/ACT scores are good , you'll at least have a shot. What kind of school are you looking at ? If its a Arts/Liberal Arts School , it wont really matter, a technical or engineering school will be far more picky.

[TheDarkOne]

I got into the engineering program here at UBC with a 76% average in the first semester of my last year in high school, and a 93% the second. 'Course, I think Canadian universities do things slightly differently then state schools, as far as I can tell all they looked at was my final average.

[RedImperator]

It really depends on a lot of things. Typically, admissions departments don't look too hard at sharp swings between one semester and the next. They recognize that students, being human, are occasionally going to have an unnaturally good or bad semester. What matters more is your overall GPA and how your grades have looked over time. Colleges tend to frown upon students with high GPAs who did really well their freshman and sophomore years but coasted with Cs and Ds junior and senior year.

[Alyeska]

*psst*

SAT/ACT scores are pointless. I got into college without ever taking them, and my HS GPA was only a 2.5. Though now that I am in college I have been getting straight As for the last 2 years.

[Wicked Pilot]

Your "overallness" should be what they're looking for. Just remember though, getting into college is only the first part of the equation. I will say this once, I will say this a thousand time, how you do in high school is no indication of how you will do in college.

[Master of Ossus]

Let's say you get moderate, perhaps 1 C and few Bs grades for the first semester of your high school senior year, but get all A's for your second semester.

Would colleges see that in a positive light or negative light?

Explain what happened in your essay. I used to help the Admissions boys with their work. If they see something like that, they usually want to know what happened to cause the turn-around. Were you involved in many more extracurricular activities first semester? Did you bite of more than you could chew? Were there problems with the family that made it difficult to concentrate? Depending on what your reasoning is for the weaker grades in the first semester, they could look upon this VERY favorably, or relatively unfavorably. It also depends on the school. At Pomona College, they wanted people who were absolutely driven to succeed, and have basically been perfect students since they could walk. In most other schools, however, they're looking for diversity of experience as a student body. At Amherst, Williams, Stanford, and U. of Chicago, they look for people who bring something other than academics to the table, as well as just grades. Chances are, if you've got some reason why you were able to turn your grades around, they'll overlook a semester or two, just be sure to explain what happened to you and what you learned from it. Good luck!