<p>I go to the #4 ranked public school in my state and my class has been noted as one of the most competitive the school has ever seen. It's a class of 150 so the top 10% is a pretty small margin. To get in I think the minimum is a 4.35 weighted. Anyway, I have a 4.1 weighted which puts me in the top 20%. Am I screwed for schools like Georgetown where like 90% of admitted students are in the top 10% of their class? My school doesn't rank but will adcoms still see that I'm ranked so low? The only reason I'm ranked so low it because I had a terrible freshman year. Without that, I'd probably be up in the top 10%.</p>
<p>If your school doesn’t rank how will they “know”?</p>
<p>More than likely Georgetown or any other school will be familiar with the rigor of your high school. I would emphasize your improving GPA trend. Produce some Georgetown quality SATs and I would think you’ll be a competitive candidate. Of course, Georgetown’s 18% admit rate makes it a tough place for anyone.</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>Many colleges (the highly competitive ones) figure out a rank for those not ranked using info in the school’s profile and historical data on applicants from the high school.</p>
<p>If the vast majority are in the top 10% at a college, and you’re not, it’s going to be tough. the exception is highly competitive high school (average SAT near 2100) kids can get cut a break below the very top schools, especially with very high scores.</p>
<p>Thank you for the insight. I’m really worried that my counsler will put it in my letter of reccomendation or something since they have the rankings on file but don’t publish them to students. He said to me that he was suprised I was in the 20% because he knows that I work really hard.</p>
<p>My school doesn’t send very many to Georgetown so I don’t think they’ll have much data to compare with. Also, beginning with my year the school started using the +/- system for the first time since 1980 or something like that. The +/- made it so that AP classes were weighted more than honors classes, which was not true when they just gave solid letter grades. Back then, honors and AP were weighted the same, so every class before mine’s GPAs are lower. Is it likely that they would notice something like that?</p>
<p>Your schools sends a profile that explains the grading system. That often includes info like GPA range for each decile. Ask your counselor for a copy.</p>