Starting high school is a big transition for many students. Suddenly, grades start to carry more weight and college seems to be creeping up on you. No matter if you’re in grade 9 or grade 11 and looking back, you’ve likely wondered: Do colleges look at freshman year? The short answer is yes, but not in the way you may think. In this blog, we’ll break down the significance of 9th grade and what really matters to colleges.
Yes. Colleges receive your entire high school transcript, which includes your grades from freshman year. However, admissions officers are mostly concerned with your more recent performance and recognize that 9th grade is not only a transitional period for students, but also less important to who they are when they apply to college.
A rocky start won’t be why a college turns you away, but they will question your progression in grades 10 and 11. From grade 9 onward, college admissions officers are looking to see if a student is demonstrating an upward trend in their academic performance. This means they’re taking challenging courses (Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB)), expanding their studies and interests, and preparing themselves for college-level coursework.
Not necessarily. It depends on which colleges a student applies to. Freshman grades do not determine how well a student will do in college. College admissions officers are more concerned with your performance in the more recent years. Rest assured, if you didn’t perform as well as you would have hoped in 9th grade, you will not be penalized for it.
The exception to this rule comes when a student is aiming for a highly selective college such as Harvard, UCLA, MIT, or other Top 20 colleges. As our College Counselor, Renee Roush, a former application reader at Columbia University, explains:
“As selectivity increases, freshman year matters more. At the most selective schools, everything matters, including grades from 9th grade.”
For highly selective colleges, the grades you receive and the courses you take in grade 9 set the tone for your entire college application. While a small stumble in grade 9 won’t make or break your candidacy, a significant setback may raise concerns from admissions officers.
Related: College Application Timeline: How to Apply to College
Colleges understand that a student evolves in high school. Who you are in grade 9 is not who you are when you’re applying to college. And in this marathon, you will have your ups and downs.
So what matters? Setting habits in freshman year is more important than perfect performance.
Spending time to develop hard and soft skills early can be what makes or breaks your performance in high school and your ability to gain admission to the college of your choice.
Each year, we have a few dozen students who come to us in late junior year and say, “I wish I could go back in time.” And through the work we do with students, as early as middle school, we reduce the number of students who apply to college regretting their decisions and the choices they made in high school.
We don’t want you to be that student who limits their options early on. Grade 9 is the perfect time to start laying the foundation for the future you want. Missing out on prerequisite courses now can make it difficult (sometimes impossible) to catch up later. And without showing genuine interest in a subject throughout high school, it’s much harder to be admitted into selective programs in that field.
So whether you’re in 9th grade today or just looking to make small improvements before it’s too late, use this time to explore. Take courses you’re curious about, even ones you’re unsure of. Every class you try gives you more opportunities down the road.
A strong start in grade 9 sets up a more successful process when it comes time to apply to college. Not only will this open more opportunities for you, but it will also give you the confidence boost you need to juggle college applications, exams, and extracurricular commitments during senior year.
Related: 7 Tips to Overcome College Admissions Stress
Yes, but it is not the determining factor for college acceptance. Freshman year is a starting point and does not hold as much weight as sophomore and junior year performance.
No. Colleges will receive a copy of your full high school transcript. Some colleges will put less emphasis on your 9th-grade academics, but highly selective colleges will expect that students perform well throughout the entirety of their high school years.
Yes. Most high schools include 9th grade in their grade point average (GPA) calculations, and how well a student does in grade 9 may impact their ability to take more advanced senior courses.
Related: What is a Weighted or Unweighted GPA? Which Do Colleges Care About?
Freshman year matters, but it does not hold as much weight as students think. What matters more is a student’s trajectory throughout high school. Now, this doesn’t mean that freshman year is a free pass to slack off, but it does mean that students have some wiggle room.
For students who may have had a tough freshman year, there is still time to make improvements to your academic performance. That may mean working with a skilled tutor or connecting with someone at Collegewise for academic advancement and skill-building opportunities. The bottom line is that freshman year should be looked at as a launchpad for future success or a learning experience to bounce back from.