Yes, duh. End of blog.
Okay, kidding, there’s more blog! Before you click away, let us explain why it matters. We get this question a lot from both parents and students. Freshman year is often considered to be a sort of transition from middle school to high school, and sure, it is that, but it’s also very important. 8th grade doesn’t go on your college apps (except for USC, for some reason), but 9th grade absolutely does. If colleges can see it, it absolutely matters.
So let’s talk about some of the myths and misunderstandings about freshman year and why some people think that it doesn’t matter to colleges. Let’s go over some most frequently asked (or commented) things about freshman year and debunk them, one by one.
“Just because colleges can see grades from freshman year doesn’t mean that they care. It’s the least important year.”
Well, why do you think it’s the least important year? Because it’s the first one of high school? Some people may think of it that way, but we see freshman year as setting the foundation for the rest of your high school career. This will be the year where you have the most time and flexibility to develop the best habits and plan for getting the most out of your high school experience. Time management, work ethic, curiosity, and academic passion - none of these things are gated behind finals of your freshman year, so why wait?
Also, anything that contributes to your GPA is important, including freshman year. It’s not weighed less than the other years, and they still care about the rigor of classes you took in 9th grade, too! And of course, this leads us seamlessly into our next FAQ:
“If my kid did poorly in freshman year but then pulled their grades up for the rest of high school, colleges will disregard the Cs, right?”
No! Who said that? Ignore them! If you’re applying to highly competitive schools, every class matters every year.
Colleges look for consistency in their students. Ours are receiving consistent As and you should aim to do the same. Without having any context, colleges may look at a drastic change in grades between high school years - especially the early ones - as the student being lazy and only stepping up their performance because they feel like they have to. It also signals that you might lack the motivation and drive to challenge yourself and improve, which isn’t a good look on a high school transcript, especially if you’re eyeing top-tier schools.
That being said, if your freshman year wasn’t the greatest, it isn’t all over. Reach out and check some of our blog posts for building good habits and recovering from a bad freshman year. Also, if you’re about to start your freshman year, get a heads-up by checking out our guide on things you should avoid to make things as smooth as possible.
Also: if you struggled freshman year despite hard work and effort, start accessing the resources available to you. Maybe you can qualify for extra time, get a tutor for the hard subjects, and meet with teachers regularly.
“I had a family crisis and it tanked my grades. Colleges definitely understand this sort of thing happens, right?”
It really, really depends. People who read your application can only know as much as you tell them because transcripts don’t record your life events. They just record information about the classes you take and the grades you make. If you had a major life event that heavily impacted your grades, then you need to make sure you explain it (specifically explain, not make excuses) in the Additional Information section of your application. This is what it’s there for, among other things. Unfortunately, this is not a panacea for a bad freshman year, but empathetic admissions officers may give your application a second look if you have important context in this section.
In short, freshman year matters, and you should try your best to build the most solid foundation from day one.
Getting ready for freshman year can be a crazy time. Let us help. We specialize in helping you come up with the best plan for getting the most out of your high school career.