<p>Basically my question is how much do admissions departments look at the competitiveness of a school when viewing class rankings. For example, I'm a senior with a 3.97 unweighted gpa (1 semester of a B), yet am not even in the top 10% of my class (I'm around 23/150). Because my high school is so competitive (ranked in top 50 public schools) do you think my admissions councilors will recognize this or will they not look at far into it and this will damage my application because I'm not in the first decile? Thanks!</p>
<p>Well, short answer: It depends.</p>
<p>Of course, if you are looking into elite, ivy league schools, then yes this could have some affect on your admissions. However, if you are looking into public or even private schools that are less selective, then your admissions would not be so affected by your class ranking. It all depends on the schools you are looking into ( I assume probably an ivy , since you seem to have high aspirations). I wish you luck on your admissions.</p>
<p>When your GPA is 3.97 UW and you don’t rank in the top 10%, I really don’t think any school, even an Ivy, is going to care what your rank is. Given that you are in a Top 50 public high school and assuming you’ve taken a rigorous curriculum like your peers, no school is so shallow that they’re going to deny you admittance over one B.</p>