OP, youre down to one month. You haven’t indicated your plans or provided more details. No word about the GC at this supposed competitive hs.
You joined yesterday. You say you aren’t so studious. That’s going to bite you. It’s late in the game. The kids with the best shot at a tippy top tend to be in control before now, aware of what these colleges want to see, taking on more in their lives and getting good recs. They don’t do a last minute hurrah.
So you need to think. Not just react. I’m not even sure what you know about these colleges.
“I guess my chances became really slim because I went to a harder school ._.”
This is simply not true.
If you have a “problem” with respect to being a competitive applicant at the top schools, it’s that your unweighted GPA is probably below their usual standard. (That, and the fact that by your own admission, you aren’t a hard working student.)
The fact that some of your classmates did better grade-wise than you did really isn’t the issue here.
Generally speaking at a harder school a greater percentage of the class will be accepted to more selective colleges. It generally evens out. Going to an easier school at this point is dangerous because many schools won’t even include newcomers to the ranking system or they may reinterpret your grades in ways that are not o your advantage. Besides, you are probably getting much better preparation for your college work where you are now. You should talk to your teachers now about where you stand grade-wise. Will it be possible to pull them up by the end of the quarter or not? If not you may need to take another look at your list or fall in love with your safeties.
@NickFlynn
My UNWEIGHTED average is the highest I can get. It is a 4.0 which is the highest possible at my school. It’s just that my class rank is low because I made low A’s in most of my classes and other 30+ kids made higher grades than me. The reason my class rank is low although I have the highest GPA (4.0) is because our class rank is determined by the cumulative grade. NOT the 4.0 scale
All of the schools including safeties I am applying to have MOST(i mean like 90%+) of its applicants be in the top 10% of their class.
Can anyone recommend me some safeties for people like me?
I have strong test scores (SAT and SAT II AP) and decent EC’s (I went to selective governor’s program in my state for math and have won Congressional Gold Medal which requires 400 volunteer service hours 200 personal development hours 200 physical fitness etc) but low class rank 35/200
At this point it would be ridiculous to drop out of your charter school. Colleges would know exactly what you did and why you did it and it won’t help your application in the least. And there is absolutely no guarantee that you would be in any better of a position if you were ranked higher from a less rigorous schools.
And as I said, you need to look at your school’s Naviance system to get a sense of where people with your grades ended up. My kids went to a very rigorous HS and colleges did seem to give them some leeway in terms of GPA for admissions (but they were not applying to Ivy level schools), but when you are applying to the super competitive schools, that may not be the case as they are all inundated with applicants that have top grades from the most rigorous schools/programs in the nation.
The big problem seems to be overreaching in your applications. You said yourself that 5-7 people from your HS tend to get into the very top schools and you are not ranked in the top 10% so I’m not sure what you expect to happen. If you get into one of those top schools, great, but you also need to recognize that the schools on your list are reaches for pretty much everyone – even someone with a perfect GPA, perfect test scores, amazing ECs etc… You better start researching and find some match and safety schools that appeal to you. Meet with your guidance counselor now, use the super match function on the left and make sure you apply to a wide range of schools. (A different topic but also be sure you are applying to affordable schools.)
OP are you saying that, with 30 days to go, you have no idea?
You said, “I am definitely not a studious student which is probably why my class rank is low.” You make it seem that you ambled along, squeaking out A’s, not investing the max (and probably the same issue with college options, as well) – and now that you have high scores, everything suddenly changes-? Now you want to reach high. But it takes more than wanting at the last minute.
Your A’s are good and it seems you have rigor. BUT, the top schools want more than that. All the top contenders will have that and many will have Gov Academy and awards. Lots will have real leadership (not just titles or a few club memberships) and a mature perspective, can show how they stretched in many ways- which is much more than getting high scores. These colleges want the sort of kids who have had drive all along and can make sense of their full holistic matches. You can’t “make sense” of this if you don’t know those colleges well, what they value- and just keep focusing on the rank issue.
We get that you’re confused. But you don’t seem “activated.” At least, not in what you have said here.
Sorry, but I have trouble seeing that tis is serious. If you are this behind, how will you ace the app and supps, write the right essays? Go talk to the GC.
@NickFlynn @lookingforward @Happy1234
I’ve talked with the GC and I realized my school reports rank in quintiles. In other words top 20% top 40% 60%,etc
and since im about 17% I will be reported as “top quintile”
Does this help me at all? Thank you.
By the way, in my school, A’s regardless of it being A+ or A-, it’s considered a 4.0.
Sorry for the confusion.
This might be why you thought it certainly isn’t a 4.0 UW GPA
You are applying to a bunch of schools that are a reach for pretty much everyone with a very solid but not an ideal GPA. High schools provide colleges with school profiles so colleges should get a sense of where your GPA lies relative to others in your class.
You are coming from a HS which sends 5-7 kids to the top schools and yet ranked in the 30’s you are only applying to those super-selective institutions.
And keep in mind that you are not just competing with kids from your school, but you will be competing with people from all over the country and all over the world for admission.
People applying to these schools can get rejected with perfect GPAs, perfect SATs, great activities etc.
I am not saying you have a zero chance to get in where you applied, but I am saying you better not bank on it.
Did you talk to your guidance counselor about your choices of where to apply?
I will say for the last time that IMO it is time to do research and come up with some match/safety schools.