class rank

Applying to College
1

<p>so i have a 3.99 UW gpa, and 4.4ish W gpa and im ranked 53rd out of 443(based on weighted) in my class. this is because some kids take college classes, other APs or honors classes, while i have been in orchestra as my elective. how much will this hurt me at super selective, top schools?</p>

2

<p>Being outside the top 10% will make it difficult to get into top 20 schools unless you’ve got a particularly outstanding profile. No way around it. Having a 4.0 GPA is less meaningful when your rank is less impressive.</p>

<p>Some stats from the admitted classes of 2017:</p>

<p>Brown: 95% in top 10% of class, 45% were named valedictorian/ salutatorian
Dartmouth: 95% in top 10% of class, 40% were named valedictorian
Princeton: 97% in top 10% of class
Vanderbilt: 95% in top 10% of class, average class rank of 3.39%</p>

<p>That being said, your GPA and rank make you a great candidate for plenty of good schools.</p>

3

<p>so its really going to screw me that I took orchestra instead of AP electives?
thats the only reason im ranked outside the top 10%. I mean I have taken the hardest classes possible (5 honors and 6 APs), with the exclusion of being in my school’s nationally renowned orchestra. and got a 2300 on the SAT</p>

4

<p>Schools will see that you have a passion for music and it will balance out.</p>

5

<p>I remember going to one of those college seminars a couple of years ago that selective colleges hold.My daughter was a serious musician.The way students increased their rank at her school,was to load up on summer classes.This was something my daughter couldn’t do as musicians well know that’s when all the serious camps are held.I posed this question to one of the admissions officers.He said if your application shows you used that same time to pursue your passion,then by all means pursue music.If your transcript is awesome otherwise you will be fine.For my daughter the admissions reps advice was spot on.I will caution you that just being in a nationally ranked school orchestra (I didn’t know they ranked school orchestras) comparatively,may not be enough. Depending on what schools you have in mind,many applicants will have numerous stand out musical accomplishments, such as national/international competition wins,soloing with area and premiere symphony Orchestras etc.</p>

6

<p>Put spaces in between sentences. Consider using paragraphs.</p>

7

<p>Only 8077 out of 1,664,479 people taking the SAT in 2012 got 2300 or higher. That’s pretty rarified air.</p>

<p><a href=“http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/SAT-Percentile-Ranks-Composite-CR-M-W-2012.pdf[/url]”>http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/SAT-Percentile-Ranks-Composite-CR-M-W-2012.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>Top schools do accept students from outside the top 10%, just at a pretty low rate.</p>

<p>Things that can help: Significant ECs, high SAT, coming from a competitive highschool. These all appear to apply to you.</p>

9

<p>Thanks guys</p>

10

<p>Sorry my phone is new. This is my 1st smartphone :-). Receiving a 2300 is great! Judging just from anecdotal evidence, it doesn’t seem to get the mileage during admissions one would think. It seems your transcript, where you’re from, teacher recs, and essays, along with how many others apply within the same “category” carriers far more weight.</p>

11

<p>FWIW: [Calculate</a> your high school gpa for college | PossibilityU](<a href=“http://www.possibilityu.com/how-calculate-your-“real”-high-school-gpa]Calculate”>http://www.possibilityu.com/how-calculate-your-“real”-high-school-gpa)</p>

<p>

</p>

12

<p>so is that saying that class rank is not very important?</p>

13

<p>No, it’s just saying colleges recalculate GPA, and evaluate your academic record using this recalculated GPA along with rank and course rigor.</p>