Is an upward trend good for college admissions?

Not only do colleges want to see good grades, they also want to see an upward grade trend, meaning that applicants’ grades improve year after year as they take more challenging courses. This signals to colleges that students are prepared to handle the rigors of a college curriculum.

Do colleges look at grade trend?

Trends are important—grade trends, that is. Colleges notice if and how your grades improved (or didn’t) over time. If your grades were lower at the beginning of high school and then improved, the upward trend may count in your favor.

Does upward trend matter?

Do Not Force an Upward Grade Trend Overall, grades from freshman and sophomore year are given significantly less weight than those from junior and senior year. Remember that an upward grade trend is by no means better than keeping grades strong throughout high school.

Do colleges like to see improvement in grades?

Most colleges will consider your grade in college prep courses the strongest sign of your ability to do well in college. Even if you struggled early in your high school career, colleges will look favorably upon strong improvement in subsequent years.

Do Ivy League colleges look at freshman year grades?

To put it bluntly, yes, colleges do look at freshman year grades on your college application. Colleges will be looking for consistency from its students, and will care much more about Cs in eleventh grade than about As in ninth.

How important are grades in the college admissions process?

An upward grade trend can make a big difference in the admissions process, especially if you had lower grades at the beginning of your high school career.

How can I show an upward grade trend on my application?

If you demonstrate an upward grade trend, it can be advantageous to highlight it in the “additional information” section of your application. This is an opportunity to explain to admissions officers how and why you have improved, especially if you had adverse life circumstances.

What constitutes an upward grade trend in high school?

There must be a significant increase to call it an upward grade trend. In other words, going from an A average freshman and sophomore years to an A+ average your junior and senior years would not constitute an upward grade trend.