<p>My school says it doesnt report class rank when we apply to college, but it does send our transcripts/GPA. I"m pretty sure my rank is around top 5-10% out of 450-500 kids in our class. Background on my school: wealthy suburban school ranked top 15 public schools in the state. Last year 4 kids were accepted from my school (out of 10 that applied) to brown (2 ED) and 2 enrolled. I dont think anyone in my class is going to apply to brown, most of the smarter students I’ve talked to want to go to UPenn, Cornell, Georgetown, or Princeton.</p>
<p>I know that Brown thinks class rank is very important when considering applications, so how can I be considered if my school doesnt send class rank (supposedly). From what I’ve seen and heard, most people who get accepted were at least top 5%.</p>
<p>If your school doesn’t rank, they won’t count not having one against you, which should be clear from the fact that four students from your school were accepted last year.</p>
<p>According to their webpage, more than half of Brown’s applicants and more than half of their accepted students come from schools that don’t rank, so don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>What Uroogla said.
Plus, admissions officers have become pretty savvy at figuring out your class standing from studying your transcript and school profile, which is a report that your guidance counselor sends in.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. I found out that the 2 people that were accepted ED to brown were ranked #1 and 2, and the two other people were top 10% (they found out by asking their guidance counselor). All of their GPAs were 3.8-4.0 (weighted), which might give me a chance when I apply next year . </p>
<p>One of the students that was accepted RD only had a SAT composite score of 2010, under 50 service hours, was not a legacy, was not a URM, only took 2 AP classes in 9-11 grade, and had only played one sport but he quit in 10th grade. His GPA was pretty good (3.9 weighted). He said his counselors and teachers wrote amazing letters for him, and he got a recommendation from a former Brown student who went there for undergrad and grad. His involvement was not great either, only in key club and NHS for one year. Can someone explain this?</p>
<p>He was more than sufficiently qualified academically to do the work. There was something about him that the admissions officer for your docket and the admissions committee liked. You’ll probably never know what it was.</p>
<p>Bottom line is, admission to these excessively selective colleges is out of any applicant’s control. All you can do is be good enough that they don’t disqualify you for academic reasons. After that, it’s all a question of what feature of whose application happens to catch which admissions officer’s eye.</p>
<p>Not a very satisfying explanation, but I think it’s correct.</p>
<p>I’m hoping a 3.9 is sufficient to be accepted to brown b/c I’m probably going to end up at around 3.85-3.9 when I apply, but my transcript shows an upward trend. However, my SAT scores will probably be stronger than his b/c I got a 2020 on my PSAT without studying at all. I am also a URM and I have played football and basketball, and I volunteer at the local YMCA and hospital. </p>
<p>My friend most likely got lucky, because teachers, the counselor, and the brown alum glorified him, so I guess thats why they accepted him.</p>
<p>Lol, only if you knew this kid. There’s hardly anything extraordinary about him. I bet his essay was great though because he was amazing at writing and English. </p>
<p>Sikorsky, thanks for your input. I understand what you are saying and I will do my best to be sufficient enough for Brown.</p>
<p>I was also wondering if proving how liberal I am would make me stand out, i.e. by helping Democrats for 2012 election by handing out fliers and that sort of thing.</p>
<p>Honestly, Renegade, I’m sorry to be so fatalistic, but you should present the clearest picture you can of the best you that you can present. They’ll either admit you or not. But I really don’t think you can game the system.</p>
<p>To be fair, I have to tell you that being an interviewer for the Ivy I attended really soured me on the whole admissions process. I saw a lot of really smart, ambitious students who got themselves all knotted up over getting into a particular college, and by and large, they didn’t get in.</p>
<p>I advised my own daughter to pick a variety of colleges she liked, where she thought she could be happy and successful, apply, and see what happens. I didn’t encourage her to look at any Ivies, and she didn’t apply to any. And I was thrilled when she decided she couldn’t really pick a favorite among the schools she did apply to. Unless your first choice is an open-enrollment school, it’s just inviting disappointment.</p>
<p>“One of the students that was accepted RD only had a SAT composite score of 2010, under 50 service hours, was not a legacy, was not a URM, only took 2 AP classes in 9-11 grade, and had only played one sport but he quit in 10th grade. His GPA was pretty good (3.9 weighted). He said his counselors and teachers wrote amazing letters for him, and he got a recommendation from a former Brown student who went there for undergrad and grad. His involvement was not great either, only in key club and NHS for one year. Can someone explain this?” </p>
<p>The only explanation I can offer is that this was the exception and definitely not the rule (having below average SAT score and EC’s).</p>
<p>I think that’s half the lesson. The other half is, don’t allow yourself to believe that the decisions adcoms make when you’re 18 define you or your worth.</p>
<p>Brown and the other Ivies are great schools, but there are lots of great schools in this country. (And even more schools that lack the Ivies’ name recognition, but still make a great education available to motivated students.) </p>
<p>I’m sure it’s hard to see it this way from the vantage point of the 11th grade, but where you spend the time from age 18 to 22 matters a lot less 15 years later than how you spent that time.</p>
<p>My friends in college have told me almost the same thing. I know there are great schools like University of California, Penn State, U of Michigan, Stanford (might as well be Ivy league), etc. The only thing with Ivy league schools is the prestige that comes with it. When people hear you went to an ivy league school they automatically associate you with being smart, successful, talented, etc.</p>
<p>Or they think you’re a snob, an elitist, pampered, privileged, rich, preppy. In my first job, the administrative assistant hated me the moment she met me, because she thought I was spoiled, that I never had to face any difficulties in life. There are times when it is not a good idea to mention that I went to Brown.</p>
<p>Fireandrain, so true. I’ve said elsewhere on these boards, you can practice all you want saying “Harvard” or “Princeton” in the exact same way you’d say “Ohio State,” but you can’t do a damn thing about the way people are going to hear it.</p>
<p>Depends on how the person thinks. Of course there are people who are going to be jealous that you went to an elite school. I get jealous of people who went to MIT and Princeton b/c I know it would take a miracle for me to get into those schools. My thinking is that going to an ivy league school would give you an edge over people during job interviews and that sort of thing… but if the person is going to think you are a snob then its definitely of no help.</p>
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