<p>I've got all my stats in line--high SATs, great GPA, awesome EC's....except for my rank.</p>
<p>I've got a 3.8 GPA unweighted on the 4.0 scale, but I'm ranked 30/170 in my very competitive class.</p>
<p>I wouldnt say that my school is a magnet school my any means--we do send off some stellar students, but my class is just really really competitive. </p>
<p>However, take some things into consideration--</p>
<p>-No GPAs are weighted, therefore someone can take BS classes and get a 4.0.
-My SAT scores are far above most others in my class.
-The only bad scores I've received (which are B+ or A-) are in classes like Calculus, which isnt very pertinent to the English major i'm pursuing.</p>
<p>what do you think? does only the top 5-10% have a chance?</p>
<p>For some high schools, class rank is a good indicator of academic performance. For others (such as in your case), it's not quite as concrete. Colleges take a look at your secondary school report and judge that from the very beginning.</p>
<p>They specifically ask whether rank is weighted or unweighted.</p>
<p>And if they know your school is good and competitive, they'll be okay with a lower rank. But if you lived in a rural town full of farms in Idaho with a class of 30 students, they would expect you to excel. I mean, what are the chances of there being 10 Ivy-caliber students in that little population?</p>
<p>I'm not sure what to think about my class rank. Sometimes I feel like it might be a thing that'll keep me away from applying to good schools like Penn. The thing is, I took elective courses that aren't weighted, but are worth a lot of credits (Latin and Orchestra). In addition to my 5 major classes (all weighted), in 10th grade, I also took Latin and Orchestra (No one else in my grade was crazy enough to sacrifice lunch periods to do this) because I wanted to see what Latin was like, and I had already been taking Orchestra for a while. I ended up really enjoying Latin, but it wouldn't fit in my schedule for 11th grade, so instead, I took my usual 5 major subjects (weighted) and AP Chem (weighted) with no Orchestra or Latin, unfortunately. I got 2 B's during high school, but in addition to those and the unweighted electives, my class rank is 22 of 630.</p>
<p>A lot of the students above me in rank take elective courses that don't count as much, so the unweighted class won't affect his/her GPA too much.</p>
<p>I'm sorry if I confused anyone. But what I'm trying to say is that the reason my rank is probably lower than it should be is because of the fact that I took an addition elective (unweighted) that brought my GPA down, thus ultimately lowering my rank. However, I have only received 2 B's in my high school career, while taking all Honors/AP classes.</p>
<p>It's just a little concerning, because only about 10 students per year from my school go to Ivy schools (mostly Penn and Cornell, if not only Penn and Cornell), and I would love to attend Penn, but the rank might be preventing me from doing so.</p>
<p>Sorry if that was long and seemingly pointless. Any opinions/advice/insight?</p>
<p>P.S.- If anyone is confused about what I just typed, feel free to ask. I'll be more than happy to clear up any confusion.</p>
<p>Reasons why it should have been obvious I was talking about KRabbleand not MeatMountain (myself):</p>
<ol>
<li>I would be talking about myself, to myself.</li>
<li>I actually started the thread because my rank is bad.</li>
<li>Because it was very very obvious.</li>
</ol>
<p>What concerns me is that a school like Penn might only accept a certain number of kids from my class, and I'm worried that they might exclude me from that group.</p>
<p>A lot of competitive public and private schools don't even rank at all anymore. My school stopped for my class -- on average, a student with a 4.0 QPA is lucky to make top 50% in a class of 500 (and not solely because of grade inflation).</p>
<p>My school doesn't weight or rank...but i think that great teacher recomendations should make up for a lower rank. Anyway, colleges will know that you took the hardest course load possible and that you skipped electives</p>
<p>it definitely matters- at my ridiculously competitive high school in suburban new england, i had a 3.9/4.0 gpa uw, and still was ranked #35/300. everyone applies to the same schools, although, some colleges are somewhat understanding- in my class, 8 people were accepted to cornell- myhigh school is a big feeder school up there.
but then you have a tiny school like williams, think 30 people applied to williams, all well qualified, but theres no way they would take more than 1-2.
if i had gone to the high school in the next town over, i would have easily been in the top 5; in fact, i know a few people who did just that.
but would you rather be top 5 in a terrible school? or top 50 in a school that constantly receives national awards for its academic programs, music department, etc.
i think its similar to the question, would you rather get a B in an AP chem or an A in health? colleges are much happier to see that you challenge yourself among your brightest peers then just taking the easy road.</p>
<p>its a matter of personal preference i think.</p>