Hello,
I am a rising senior and current valedictorian of my class. After a rigorous semester of hard work and dedication, I managed to get excellent grades (lowest was a 99); however, not all of these classes were AP-- I HAD to enroll in one unweighted course that may (and will probably) hurt my rank, for the salutatorian had previously taken this course and took all weighted courses this semester. Unfortunately, since our GPAs are so close, there is a really big possibility that my rank will go down.
Now, my transcript has been updated with my 6th semester grades… BUT my rank hasn’t. Our counselor will work on our ranks late September. Here’s my question:
Can I apply to Dartmouth ED as early as September? If so, If I send them my transcript with my updated grades will they mind if my rank hasn’t been updated? Will they require me to send them another transcript once my rank has been re-calculated? On my transcript, it states “1/642; Date of Class Rank: 3/2016”. What I am really afraid of is if they require me to re-send my transcript with the updated rank-- they will notice that my ranking went down and may think I slacked off.
What should I do? Submit my application as valedictorian early September? Or risk it and send it in once my new and most-likely lower rank has been updated?
No one is going to view #1 to #2 as slacking off. Your counselor can handle that in his/her recommendation. I don’t know when the ED application period opens or when it closes, but I would say you are free to send in whatever transcript is current at the time you apply. The school will probably want midyear grades, but I would be astounded if a class rank shift of one or two spots amounted to a hill of beans. Work on your essays rather than fretting about this. :-c
@geisel1797 you can apply in early September. You will have to request a transcript from your school. Guidance may not immediately send it out though so it could have your updated rank. It depends how fast guidance works. You will have to send an updated transcript to
Dartmouth for mid year grades. The ED decisions will be out before then, assuming your application is not deferred to RD pool.
You can apply in december, but I’m not sure that they will actually look at your application until later. But like others said, there isn’t a big difference between 1 and 2, and 2 shouldn’t be seen as slacking off
Thank you all for your input! As of now I’m on vacation mode – I will start working on my essays next month. :D/ Do any of you all know when Dartmouth will release its writing supplements? Also, how exactly do you send your transcript to schools? Will I have to upload it on my CA account and send it to Dartmouth along with the rest of my application? Or directly to Dartmouth? Thank you and sorry for my lack of knowledge in this!
I believe each high school has its own way of transmitting transcripts. My son had to fill out a form for guidance which then forwarded the official transcript. You need to check with your counselor. I can tell you that the common app did let us know that the transcript was sent.
As far as the prompts, last year’s prompts were the same as the year before. You should be able to confirm the prompts by August. You could contact admissions and ask if they will be the same again this year.
