I am currently a junior in high school. I go to a regular public school with a huge variety of APs, and I am in a specialized program where I take classes with far more rigor than the general student (I am the only student in the top ten of my class in this program).
Will my chances of admission to top 5-10 colleges be in any way influenced by the fact that i’m ranked 5/281 rather than 1st or 2nd? It is not very common for students from my school to get into top colleges let alone the Ivy League, but the ones that have in past years have usually been 1st or 2nd. Clearly I understand the holistic process, however I want to know that I even have a chance ranked 5th (I still have the first semester of senior year to improve this, and I can assume it will be improved judging by the fact that I have 8 weighted APs next year, but just want to make sure).
basically what I’m asking is will 5/281 be looked at differently than 1st or 2nd/281 or will they give them exactly the same weight. keep in mind the GPA difference between the two ranks is like .1 usually
No, so long as you are in the “range” of GPA and SAT for the schools you’re applying to, 1st or 5th out of 281 is not going to make a real difference. Take a rigorous courseload and do well. The fact that very few kids from your school go to the Ivies can be both a hindrance and a blessing. You may be a “geographically diverse” candidate, and if so, you can write about life in your world.
Colleges that publish these stats often show a bump for the number one and number two in the class. That may be because doing what it takes to be number one or two also correlates with doing what it takes with the rest of the application. In our school, the very selective colleges take from the top 2% or so regularly and dip down to the top 5 or 6% if there is something else appealing about the application.
My older son got into Havard and Carnegie Mellon CS quite a while ago as number 8 in his class of 640. Number 1 also got in that year, number 3 was weightlisted. My kid had higher SAT scores, and had lots of varied and pretty impressive CS activities. (He also got rejected from MIT, Stanford and Caltech - so no guarantees for sure!) Younger son was just one away from being in the top 5% with slightly lower scores he got into U of Chicago EA and Vassar (being a boy definitely helped) and Tufts (I think his optional Tufts essay probably really helped.)
No, not really. It’s highly unlikely that you are denied by T10s just because you are 3-4 places lower than what is considered “Ivy-worthy”. Many applicants are accepted to top 10 colleges even with being ranked outside the top 2% of their graduating class. Don’t worry too much about this. Focus on being successful in rigorous classes, scoring high on standardized tests, developing strong ECs that show extensive community involvement, and being an interesting person overall. Good luck!
No.If you get rejected for having a rank of 5, it’s unlikely that you would have been admitted with a rank of 1. Rank/GPA is just one part of the application.
Your class rank is very important but only in relation to several other factors that will also determine your college admissions outcome. Your high school profile looks very similar to that of my son’s except it’s an IB school. He, too, was ranked 5th out of some 350 students in his Junior year. He graduated 6th in his class, yet he was admitted to higher ranked colleges, including 3 Ivy’s, than anyone above the class rank. The valedictorian that year went to a top-25 university while the salutatorian an in-state college, both excellent schools. Your class rank, in other words, isn’t a sure thing that will secure your “chances of admission to top 5-10 colleges.”
I’ve always stressed the importance of being within the “range” of those targeted schools as opposed to being a valedictorian or salutatorian with perfect SAT/ACT/GPA scores. Once within the range, it’s your ECs, essays, LORs, etc. that will play critical roles in determining your chances at top schools depending on the quality level of involvements and accomplishments.
It probably won’t make a difference, but you still need to be very realistic about your chances. Even with your stats, you still only have about a 1 in 10 chance of getting accepted. You will be competing against thousands of other applicants with similar resumes.
Definitely take your shot and a apply to a few top 10 schools, but also find some match and safety schools that you would be happy to attend as well. Good luck!