How would a student with high SAT score but relatively low class rank be viewed ?
I have relatively low class rank because I find it hard to keep a good grade in school. I have all A’s but there are alot of people with way higher grades than me. My cumulative is only about 94/100 (weighted with +10 from AP’s) The highest in my class has like 102-3/100 (since it’s weighted with AP’s)
I have the highest SAT in my class (2320) but I have a low class rank. 35ish/200
Will this hurt my chances at top colleges? (aka ivy league schools, stanford,mit,chicago,duke,amhert,williams,swarthmore,and many more lol)
What I’m worried about is that only about 5~7 people go to top schools every year in my school.
So I’m worried that being 34/200 will significantly hurt my chance…
I feel like I have to be at least in top 10 of my class since so few people get into top colleges in my school.
I go to a rigorous school by the way. My school is ranked #1 in the state and #4 in the US
Our SAT average is about 1900, to give you an idea… I know there are alot of schools with 1900+ average so I doubt we are really ranked #4…
I’m in a similar situation (good test scores, terrible class rank), but my test scores don’t even stand out at my school. Last year, 7 people got a 36 on the ACT, which is just stupid. Colleges will take your school’s rigor into account, but top schools aren’t very forgiving.
Also, the fact that only 5-7 people get into top schools could be due to other factors. I think it’s significant that nobody in your class got 2320+, but you’re outside the top 10%. Do the people in the top 10% have less-than-stellar test scores?
I think you’re right in that your school is probably not ranked #4, as a 2320 being the highest score is hard to believe.
You said you have all A’s, but a low GPA. Is that because of your lack of course rigor?
Yes, it will hurt you at those schools you mentioned as 90%+ of admitted applicants were in the top 10% of their high school class. I’m pretty sure the rest are athletes, legacies, URM’s (not likely), and people who go to schools like Stuyvesant (super, super competitive).
But, at top schools, the good news is that there is always a chance. I would just not worry about it too much.
Perhaps doing well first semester senior year will help? You should still have at least a month left until finals.
I am in a similar issue (11/51 class rank, 3.91 GPA, 2340 SAT, school ranked 3rd in state, 10th in the US), and have been told that due to my very small class size and school rigor I should be okay.
If anything I think you’re low class rank shows the validity of your school’s course work, and as long as you have a decent G.P.A I don’t think it will hurt you. Think about it like this, if you’re in the top 17% of your class and with a 2320 SAT that shows that your schools grades are highly non-inflated. At most schools only the top 1-2% of a graduating class would have an SAT score even near that number. Also, in light of this your SAT score shows if you can do the work, and your GPA shows if you will do the work. Further, I think you stand a good chance at the ivy’s with the SAT score and that at a super competitive school being in the top 20% with a high sat score is a lot better than being Valedictorian at a lower school with a sub-par SAT score.
@rdeng2614@Nevets04
I have all A’s and my classes are pretty rigorous.
I had 4 AP’s as a sophomore, 4 AP’s as junior, multivariable calculus (dual-enrollment) , and currently doing Differential equations and 4 more AP’s as a senior. (I’m pretty sure this is rigorous enough…?!)
I have a 4.0 GPA but the reason why my class rank is so low is because I had a bunch of low A’s (90-93) and 32 other people have had a lot of 96+ basically.
I am definitely not a studious student which is probably why my class rank is low…
So, did i just screw up my chance at ivy’s SIGNIFICANTLY by having a low class rank? (AKA not being in the top 10%)
Ugh, I’m so upset about this… It’s not like I was dumber than the other people with higher rank than me… and the fact that my class is rather small puts my percentile way back -_-. It’s only about 200.
I go to a charter school and this school takes 350 kids freshman year but about 150 dropped out to go back to their home high school because the classes here were too hard.
@cheerleader16 if your class is that small, I don’t think your class rank is going to hurt you. I know a small prep school that had only 50 ish people but like 20~25 people went to Ivy’s.
Only 5~7 people get into Ivy’s in my school. This may be because not alot of people have Ivy-worthy SAT scores. Only 4 people qualified for the NMSQT as juniors in my school (just to give you an idea). Do you think it’s the SAT scores that are holding the people in my school back?
@rdeng2614 Since class rank is cumulative, senior finals won’t affect it too much.
@PsychicPanda2
Well I’m crossing my fingers for what you said is valid.
It’s not like my grades were bad lol… They were ALL A’s. It’s just the 32 other ppl had alot of A+'s l
Adcoms will look at your transcript and see the rigor and the A range. What you should be concerned about, imo, is whether you really know what those schools look for. Since you’re so focused on rank, I wonder. And if you don’t understand that, how do you both assess your match (in choosing to apply) and present your best on the app and supps?
@lookingforward
I was just very concerned because all of the schools I’m applying to has basically 98% of all their students ranked top 10% in high school.
And I bet the other 2% is probably athletes, URM, legacies, and small prep schools like what rdeng2614 said.
Not all hs even rank. You need to look into your targets and see the types they like. This isn’t as flat as making low A’s, then getting a high SAT and suddenly you’re a hot ticket. Do you even know how those shcools look at ECs, what they look for?
I do think your GPA/class rank will hurt your chances at the hyper-compettive schools. Apply wisely to a slate of reach, match, and safety schools and see how things turn out.
Just work on what is in front of you. Don’t worry about what you don’t have control over. Even with a better rank/ GPA you’re likely to be left out of any Ivy. Not going to an Ivy is not the end of the world. There are more successful people in the world who didn’t go to an Ivy than those who did.
Strong ECs are nice but unless you won an Olympic gold medal, a Nobel Prize, are a recruited athlete or something along those lines, ECs generally don’t make up for lower stats. The Ivy schools have more applicants who are strong in every aspect of their application than they can accept. But I’d still say if you want to give a couple of reach schools a shot, why not (as long as you apply to match, safety school as well). Nobody can predict how things turn out.
Since you are at a challenging charter school, it would be worthwhile to speak to your guidance counselor and look at your school’s Naviance to get an idea of where people with your GPA from your HS ended up. You should qualify for a lot of excellent schools, but likely not the Ivys.
@happy1
I guess my chances became really slim because I went to a harder school ._.
If I chose to go to my home high school, I would definitely be in the top 1%… Should I drop out of this charter school and go back to home high school then? My rank would be much better there.
