<p>I'm a straight A student. I have a 3.9 GPA and a 4.5 HPA. After junior year is over, I'll have 8 AP's with four more senior year. Yet because of one B and because students in my grade dual-enrolled over the summer, I am 44 out of 630. My school is always called the "public private school" due to the competitive nature it has. It's one of the best schools in the country and I'm not sure how it's possible that one B could bring me down that far. Hopefully I'll move up by the end of the year, but will this really substantially lessen my chances at being accepted to top schools?</p>
<p>Is your school top 50 in the country? Top 25? If your high school is a top top school, most colleges will be very familiar with it.</p>
<p>How many students does your school send to highly competitive schools each year? If your school routinely sends X number of students to top schools each year, that can help you figure out what kind of school you should be aiming for. </p>
<p>A low rank may indicate high grade inflation or it could mean that a ton of students at your school are really smart and headed to great colleges. Class rank is very important, but there are so many factors in play that it is hard to say anything definitively. You’re still in the top 10% of your class, which is good.</p>
<p>Colleges use GPA in conjunction with class rank do determine what your school is like and how you performed in the context of the school. Usually top 10% is perfectly fine for most top schools and seen more or less the same, and things like valedictorian or top 10 are only a relatively small bonus because realistically there’s too much variability across schools.</p>
<p>If you google the Common Data Set for the schools in which you are interested you can look at section C7 and see the weight each element gets in admission. Top schools usually use a holistic evaluation in which class rank is weighted about the same as grades, scores, etc. If your HS is that well known to colleges then it may also get some preferential treatment in the admission cycle. Talk to your GC or look up the Naviance data is the school has access to that.</p>
<p>In any case, you should not worry at all. You are well within the top 10% (actually top 7%) of a highly competitive high school. You just need good scores and EC that would make you a highly compatible candidate for any college.</p>
<p>Agree, you’re within top ten percent. The issue, imo, won’t be purely rank but who else is applying from your hs, how you come across in the CA, as an individual- and what course that B was in. (If it’s not related to your potential major or is in an elective, it can matter less.) See if you can get an advance look at the CA and supps, so you know the various pieces they will be considering.</p>