My unweighted GPA is a 4.0 and my weighted GPA is a 4.476/5.0. By the time I graduate, I will have completed 8 AP courses (4s and 5s on all the tests).
My school is uber competitive and many people have chosen to take as many AP classes as they can to have a high-class rank, even if they aren’t truly interested in those classes and are only taking them for the number.
My schedule is rigorous (all honors and AP) except that I chose to take an art and journalism class freshman and sophomore year which were standard credits. So basically even though I HAVE STRAIGHT As, MY CLASS RANK IS 65/357.
Should I even bother applying to UPENN EARLY DECISION???
Depends on if you have a more realistic shot at another school with ED. If you have no other school that you would attend if accepted ED then apply to Penn ED.
I’m in a similar situation Bella. I decided to still use my ED at Penn, as my application is much more than than simply the Class Rank. With a perfect 4.0 unweighted, and strong rigor, I suspect your class rank will have a minimal effect.
Caveat - I also have legacy as a hook which influenced the decision.
This is why my school doesn’t rank. I’ve taken 6 college classes so far (all A’s and one B+) yet I’m just barley in the top 10%. It’s super competitive; I have a 3.9 UW GPA. My school only puts your class rank on your transcript if you’re in the top 10%.
Hi equationlover: my son’s situation is similar to yours - goes to a Top 10 Public/Magnet/Charter school. There are about 65 students and the admission to the school is based on rigorous standards! The top ranker UWGPA - 3.92 (based on personal feedback) and the school does not rank anybody outside top 10%. This is why class rank is so misleading.
My observation - Based on the OP comments, at least 20% of the class has UW GPA of 4.0 - that is mind boggling because that is a clear case of grade inflation or the school is curving so much that top 20-25% get automatic 4.0. This is why grades are meaningless - it is time, students are compared based on common testing and scores in AP tests where you can compare apples to apples.