Do Colleges Look at Freshman Grades? | Are you DENIED before you even apply?
Every year, we get questions from students and parents regarding colleges and what they actually look at when evaluating an applicant. One of those questions 
is “Do Colleges Look At Freshman Grades?”. And while there isn’t a definitive answer to that, we’re going to attempt to clarify what colleges look at the best we can.
So, what are colleges looking at when you apply?
All colleges are different in their admissions and the method in which they accept and deny students. That’s just the way it is. The reason for this is that every college has it’s own set of rules and procedures that they follow when looking at a potential student’s transcript. A top college such as Stanford will take a much closer look at a students high school record than a state school like Northern Iowa.
A good rule to follow is this: The more prestigious the school you are applying to, the more comprehensive they will be when evaluating you for admission into their institution. Stanford and Northern Iowa are two completely different schools when it comes to admission, and obviously Stanford is a much more prestigious making them harder on their applicants.
So, it makes sense that Stanford is going to look over your application and transcript with a magnifying glass to see if there’s anything that raises a red flag for them, like a “D” in Freshman Biology!
What Are Colleges Looking At On Your Transcript?
When you apply to the college(s) of your choice, you will have to submit your official high school transcript. All of your semester grades will be posted to that transcript, including your cumulative Grade Point Average, Class Rank and standardized test scores such as the ACT. Depending on what school you are sending this too, they may look as far back as freshman year.
Keep in mind that one of the very first things they will be looking at is your overall GPA and Class Rank. If you make the cut by their specific admission standards, then they will continue on to other parts of your transcript, such as your ACT and/or SAT score(s). Additionally, top colleges will want to see what type of courses you took in high school to see if you challenged your self with upper level, Advanced Placement and Honors courses. From there, they will take a look at your grades in specific courses and this could realistically include Freshman grades!
Do Colleges Look At Freshman Grades?
The simple answer to that is: it depends on the college. You can bet your bank account that the elite and highly selective colleges are going to look at every detail of your high school transcript which includes freshman grades!
On the flipside, if you are just trying to gain admission to a state school, chances are relatively good that they will not look all the way back to freshman year for your grades. Provided that you have a good overall GPA and Class rank, most state and traditional colleges will admit you based on the “Big Three”…GPA, Class Rank and ACT score.
So if you didn’t do as well as you wanted to during your freshman year and are wondering “Do colleges look at freshman grades?”…the answer is yes. The good news for you is that you have 3 more years to bring your GPA up to a level that may not get your freshman grades noticed by many colleges!
We explain the difference between “elite/highly selective, traditional, state colleges and The Big Three” in greater detail in our book Plan, Prepare, Succeed: Getting Accepted To College.
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- How To Get Accepted To Harvard Without Perfect Grades
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well am a second language, my parents didn’t go to school here, so somtimes i have to stay active. am a sohpmore now, but i didn;t do so well on my freshmen year i had like 4 F’s and alot of c’s and some A’s and some B’s. i want to get in harvard or brown but i don’t know if that’s possible because i didn’t do so well on my freshmen year. i can raise it up in my sophmore year and do AP classes and join the tennis team. i think i might go to community college because i think it’s too late for me, alot of people say that with those kinds of grades on freshmen year u should just give up. do u think i have what it takes to get into harvard or brown with those kind of grades? do i have a chance of getting a 4.0 GPA . like i said i can pull it up.
Hello!
Yes, you still have a chance to get to the 4.0 mark depending on how your school weights those AP courses. Good idea about taking those AP’s and also getting involved, but alot is riding on your ACT/SAT scores. You have little room for error when it comes to getting into Ivy League colleges, so make sure you earn A’s from here on out!
I got a D in my freshman year and two Fs in my sophmore(I retook those classes). My junior year just started but I’m planning on studying my butt off. I’m in the choir and on a school team that looks really good on college transcripts, do you think its possible for me to get into a good college? Such as NYU, Oregon State, Humboldt, or even UCLA or Stanford?
Should I take the practice SAT? how much would that help me for the real one?
Hi there!
A D is not a favorable grade to show colleges, but if you HAVE to have one it’s better to do it during your Freshman year….and NEVER again. Hopefully the two F’s that you retook do not count against your overall GPA. As far as being admitted to Stanford, UCLA etc…it really depends on what your cummulative GPA is when you go to apply after your Junior year. It also depends on your ACT and SAT scores. The higher those are, the lower the GPA you can have and still be admitted, but you really need to perform well in BOTH areas.
MAKE SURE you get almost all A’s from here on out and do well on both the ACT and SAT tests. You can take the PSAT test as practice, but remember that it is generally a Junior level test and you will have learned much more when you take the SAT’s your senior year.
For help on the SAT, we recomend this: http://tinyurl.com/3tkodnn
I am a freshman at a private school. I am not in honors classes, but I do track as an activity. I am looking at 4 A’s, 2 B’s, and 2 C’s. Keep in mind that at my private school, I take CP classes, but they are honors classes in Public Schools. I want to get into a place called Appalachian State University, and I am afraid that these grades are going to keep me from getting there. I will not be taking honors next year, but I will be in sports. I am really scared, and I feel like I will not be able to get into that college. Next year, I plan on A’s for mostly, but will all the sport activities I will be doing, I know there will be B’s aswell (but no C’s). I feel like I wont get into that State college because of those. There’s a possibility for 2 Honors classes. (english and history), but I really am discouraged about these grades. I feel like they aren’t good at all.
Like I said, My classes are honors classes in public schools. Only difference is that I do not get honors credit. Tell me what I need to get past this.
Oh, and how do colleges see grades? Do they see “91-B” or do they just see “B” ?
The difference between an honors course and what you describe as “CP” (which I’m assuming is College Prep) is the course indexing. In other words, are you getting extra points towards your GPA by taking these CP classes? If not, they would not be considered Honors courses in the public school system.
Colleges will only see what’s printed on your Official Transcript. So, if your school includes a percentage score, then the colleges will see that. However, most school in the US only show semester/trimester letter grades without percentages.
How can you get past this? Get the highest possible grades you can get in your classes, then do well on the ACT. In 2011, Appalacian State only admitted 68% of applicants which is not TOO hard, but still relatively selective. The average ACT score fell between a 21 and a 27, so that should be no problem.