<p>Is it truly a important characteristic in determining admissions for any high school?</p>
<p>My high school doesn't rank and the class size is pretty small (170 people), but I think they give out deciles where I'm unfortunately probably 30 to 40 decile. My GPA isn't bad though, its 4.2 weighted all ap's/honors except for some humanities and the school itself is no slouch either. We have a bunch of hyps each year. (I think 12 stanford this year alone), highest number of intel semifinalists on west coast for any high school (11 or something), high average SAT scores, over half the class recognized for NMSQT (I'm not one of them unfortunately, did well on actual SAT) etc. The students who go are super competitive which it makes it incredibly difficult to slip in a top 20 or 10% spot.</p>
<p>So really am I in trouble? Or is it soon enough to switch to a public school and claim one of those coveted top 5% spots.</p>
<p>You raise an interesting and important issue.</p>
<p>A 4.2 at School A does not necessarily mean the same thing as a 4.2 at School B. Likewise, being ranked in the top 10% at school A does not mean being in the top 10% at School B. Colleges are generally aware of this in making decisions.</p>
<p>Your case – >5% of your class went to Stanford. I assume that others went to equally prestigious schools – so, we can safely assume that Colleges understand the rigor and training you get, and what these numbers mean. </p>
<p>Does your school have Naviance? If so, you can look up admissions statistics for people with similar stats as yours for many Universities. This is a really great resource. Otherwise, you’re going to have to talk with your GC or College Advisor to come up with a list of schools.</p>
<p>Free advice – You probably should not post any “chance me” questions on CC. People will see your rank, jump to conclusions based on broad generalizations and say that you shouldn’t apply. In many cases, they will be speaking from ignorance (even more so than normally, if such a thing is possible) and should be ignored.</p>
<p>Your percentile ranks isn’t really what’s important. Being in the top 10% or 5% is a good guideline for most schools, but I think being among the top 10 students in your class is a better standard for admission to a place like Stanford. In fact, being in the top 10 is probably necessary for any top-level Ivy, MIT, etc. I guess it changes depending on how competitive your school is, but most students who go to top universities come from reasonably competitive schools anyway, so it’s probably not a huge factor. I wouldn’t recommend moving to a larger school just so that you can secure a percentile. I think that you should stay where to you are and try to succeed to the best of your ability. Securing top 10 or 20 people (and therefore, getting a realistic shot at Stanford, etc.) has nothing to do with class size. It has everything to do with how smart and hardworking you are.</p>
<p>Your school profile will speak for you. Do not worry about the rank. However, in such a competitive high school, you should wisely choose the colleges you will apply. Focus on the fit and avoid a lot of overlapping with your classmates who are better than you or as good as you are. Your counselor may help on this matter.</p>