Can a good class rank make up for a low GPA?

<p>i have a pretty low gpa (compared with most of the people on this site), i have a 3.5 UW and ~3.65 weighted. but my class rank is in the top 10%. my test scores are decent as well, i received a 2160 on the SAT and a 32 on the ACT, but im still unsure of whether i will be admitted into any of the selective, top 25 ranked colleges that I applied to</p>

<p>schools like vanderbilt, emory, michigan, washU, berkeley, ucla, USC, etc...</p>

<p>does anyone have any experience dealing with a high class rank and low GPA?</p>

<p>Well, having a log gpa but a good rank is usually an indication that your school is pretty tough…so it balances out in the end, if that’s what you’re wondering. top 10% is okay, depends on how many kids are in you class.</p>

<p>yeah i have a fairly large class, ~600 students. i go to a public school, but for what its worth my school is ranked like 450th nationally by newsweek’s ‘americas best highschools’</p>

<p>GPAs are also evaluated in the context of the applicant’s school. Some schools are famous for the so-called GPA deflation; due to either harder classes or harder tests, students’ average grades can be lower than in other schools. This is often regulated by class ranking and recommendations.</p>

<p>If the cause of your ‘low’ GPA is a grade deflation in your school, having your counselor to mention it on his/her rec.letter and standing in a good ranking position will probably make things work out.</p>

<p>You should be okay…you’ve got good scores for all those places and your grades/rank won’t really hurt you since again, it’s all about context and you’ve got pretty fitting context. Best of luck!</p>