Upward Trend

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seb.g.b

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How does admissions see an upward trend in your grades/GPA? I started out high school really bad and lazy and didnt take it super seriously and got a 3.3 GPA, but sophomore year I started to wake up and got a 4.1 GPA first semester and 3.7 second semester, and now as a junior, im on set to finish my first semester with a 4.5 GPA. How does the upward trend in my grades, especially that they are harder classes, look to admissions counselors? How does it compare to someone who had a steady and decently good GPA/grades all throughout?
 
An upward trend is better than mediocre grades without change, and I would suspect that the Admissions Board would look at the later grades (and SAT scores) to make the determination that you are academically qualified. That said, admissions is very competitive, having 4 years of solid grades is better than an upward trend.
 
GPA is not a primary factor for admissions. Instead, class rank is emphasized. Then SAT/ACT math scores.
 
GPA may not be a primary driver, but transcript in the context of the school profile is paramount. USNA wants to know that you took the hardest classes your school has to offer and excelled at them. Or as close to that as you're capable of.
 
seb.g.b said:
What if my school doesn't rank?
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For high schools that don't rank, your SAT/ACT scores become the #1 metric on academic performance. The Academy Admissions staff(s) have a pretty good working knowledge of the profiles for a large percentage of the high schools in the country (and subsequently the "grade inflation" that exists in some/all).

We were told very succinctly that the SAT/ACT was the great equalizer - for better or worse.
 
TexasAggie204 said:
For high schools that don't rank, your SAT/ACT scores become the #1 metric on academic performance. The Academy Admissions staff(s) have a pretty good working knowledge of the profiles for a large percentage of the high schools in the country (and subsequently the "grade inflation" that exists in some/all).

We were told very succinctly that the SAT/ACT was the great equalizer - for better or worse.
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Thanks TA204.. It's good to hear about the working knowledge of the High Schools. DS's HS does not offer "quality points" for AP and Honors classes and therefore does not rank. My preference would be to provide the quality points AND class rank, but as it's current;y contructed, I believe it would be unfair to provide a rank without looking at the difficulty of the classes. An A- in "AP Calc" should be viewed very differently than an A in "Intro Geometry".
 
NovaCat said:
Thanks TA204.. It's good to hear about the working knowledge of the High Schools. DS's HS does not offer "quality points" for AP and Honors classes and therefore does not rank. My preference would be to provide the quality points AND class rank, but as it's current;y contructed, I believe it would be unfair to provide a rank without looking at the difficulty of the classes. An A- in "AP Calc" should be viewed very differently than an A in "Intro Geometry".
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My DS had a similar situation in that he was kind of nonchalant about grades as a freshman. When he realized, "Hey! I can do better if I do my homework!" He quickly started climbing the GPA ladder. He took as many AP classes as he could and finished with a 4.35. Funny though, as you mentioned, many of the Valedictorians at his school had 4.0 because they got straight A's in the easier, Non AP, classes. My son's 4.35 represented a C in his Freshman year and 3 more B's throughout the rest of HS, yet, not a Valedictorian or even Distinguished Scholar. Very competitive HS.
 
if you school doesn't publish class rank, USNA admission is still going to contact them and ask for it. some schools (including the one DS went to) will give USNA a numerical class standing based on grades, and also provide the basis of gpa calculation. other schools will provide a decile (10th percentile, 20th percentile, etc). still other schools will refuse to provide anything other than GPA and transcript.

point is, USNA will try to gain as much info as possible about you academic performance to make the best judgement they can
 
seb.g.b said:
How does admissions see an upward trend in your grades/GPA? I started out high school really bad and lazy and didnt take it super seriously and got a 3.3 GPA, but sophomore year I started to wake up and got a 4.1 GPA first semester and 3.7 second semester, and now as a junior, im on set to finish my first semester with a 4.5 GPA. How does the upward trend in my grades, especially that they are harder classes, look to admissions counselors? How does it compare to someone who had a steady and decently good GPA/grades all throughout?
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I can only speak to my experience as a recruited athlete, but my coach said admissions LOVES to see the upward trend. I thought that was pretty obvious, though. It's better than a downward trend...
 
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