Do Colleges Really Look at Your Freshman Year of High School?

You’re just about to get started on your freshman year of high school, and you’re understandably excited. Your high school years are supposed to be filled with growth, friendship and tons of new opportunities.

You may be a little bit nervous, too – and that’s understandable. Moving into high school means adjusting to a more demanding curriculum and navigating the perils of advanced coursework, plus making a lot of challenging decisions about which classes to take and where to direct your energies.

But, how much does your freshman year really matter? If you struggle a bit to find your footing in your first year of high school, could a few Bs and a stray C end up sinking your chances of admission to your preferred college in four years?

Grades Do Matter – Including Those From Freshman Year

It’s important to recognize that everything you do – even during your freshman year – can have a massive effect on your future. College admissions boards rarely divide grade point averages up and only consider those from sophomore year onward.

Any poor marks you receive in your freshman year are, naturally, going to bring down your GPA and hurt your chances of admission.

Your Marks in Your Freshman Year Are Less Important Than Signs of Growth

All that being said about the importance of paying attention to your grades throughout high school, you don’t have to throw in the towel and abandon your college dreams if you don’t show your best self in your freshman year.

Your grades in your freshman year are only one aspect of your transcript. If you had a sub-par performance in ninth grade but stellar grades from sophomore year onward, you may rest a little easier knowing that college admissions boards look carefully at transcripts for signs of progress.

If you reverse a negative trend in your grades and pursue advanced placement classes and other academic opportunities that showcase your growth throughout high school, one or two poor marks in your freshman year need not overly concern you.

However, that also means that the reverse is true: You cannot go into high school and try to skate through with a minimum of effort in order to preserve your grade point average. College admissions boards will notice if you don’t increasingly “stretch your wings” and challenge yourself academically. Your goal is to show that you have maintained an upward trajectory throughout your education because that means that you can probably handle the rigors of college.

This Is Also the Year to Experiment with Your Extracurriculars

Another thing that college admissions boards will look at during your freshman year of high school is the type of extracurriculars you choose.

Your first year of high school should be partially about exploration. It’s okay if you don’t already know which extracurriculars you’ll enjoy the most. You can feel free to experiment during the first year by dipping your toes into a variety of things that interest you, whether that’s academic clubs, volunteer work, the fine arts or sports.

At the same time, you need to pay close attention to what resonates the most with your goals. That way, you can narrow down your extracurriculars and take a deep dive into the ones that matter the most over the next three years. Admissions boards tend to prioritize depth of experience over breadth.

The takeaway here is that even though a few missteps won’t destroy your chances of getting into a great college, your freshman year of high school does count for a lot – so start off as strong as you can.