<p>How important is Class Rank in the scheme of things for admission decision? 12/424 as opposed to within top 5/424. GPA unweighted is still 4.00 and weighted is 4.35 with a bunch of APs and Honors.</p>
<p>Any input is appreciated.</p>
<p>nope. Top decile's good.</p>
<p>12/424 is different than being 1st or 2nd tho.</p>
<p>Well here is the thing: My D tough a very tough curriculum but also took unweighted classes in arts and music to pursue her personal interests. If we take away these classes then she is pretty much up there. Graduation requires only 21 credits whereas she is at 26.5 . Most higher ranker stayed at 21 and took only required unweighted classes. So, if they look at her GPA at 21 credits then it is 4.58 (Rank 1) but at 26.5 credits it is 4.35 (Rank 12)because of 5.5 hours of unweighted classes.</p>
<p>My question is: How is this viewed? When I plug in her numbers into the Academic Index Calculator at Rank 12 she has an AI of 225 and at Rank 1 she has an AI of 236.</p>
<p>How much of an impact is that?</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>As far as I know, they only count your academic courses when calculating GPA and class rank at least at our school. Check with your school's counselor.</p>
<p>Honest advice: Try to get the "1" listed on her transcript. Or have your counselor mention it on the counselor form.</p>
<p>I wish it were that easy. The office staff responsible for transcripts is so dense that if defies description. Another related topic: On a related topic: When the office pointed filled out the NMSF form there is a section for rank and GPA and whether rank was weighted or unweighted. She filled in 12/424; 4.35 and checked rank as unweighted. I asked how can be rank be unweighted. Her answer was that include students not taking the weighted courses in the ranking system. That is why the rank is unweighted.</p>
<p>I said that you are considering her weighted GPA for her rank and how can you check unweighted rank. She said that this is how she does it.</p>
<p>I don't even know whether to pursue this or not. I do not have a satisfactory answer but she needs an excellent rec from the GC.</p>
<p>SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO FILL THAT SECTION OUT!!!!</p>
<p>I'm a semifinalist as well, and it states VERY clearly at the top of that section "to be filled out by guidance counselor," whereas the other sections clearly say "to be filled out by semifinalist." </p>
<p>Yikes, read directions :/</p>
<p>No, my daughter did not fill it out. The office staff lady did. They gave us a copy of what was sent to National Merit people. The "she" mentioned in the first and second paragraphs is the office staff lady.</p>
<p>oh, whew! :)</p>
<p>well, I disagree with her. Anything above 4.0 is ALWAYS weighted. period.</p>
<p>I know. Isn't it obvious? Somehow, it escapes her.</p>
<p>Actually there are other non-weighted schemes where A <> 4.</p>
<p>You might try to explain to her that "weighted" means that some grades are weighted, not that all of them are. But it is unlikely you will get a change because it appears then she will have to admit that she has not known what she is doing all these years.</p>
<p>However, yes, I can sympathize. It is amazing that some high schools really do not seem to know or care about the implications of their grading/ranking systems. </p>
<p>-- There are non-weighted systems where an "A" in basic math counts as much as an "A" in BC Calc (Count our HS in on this one. Why not change it? "Because then you're discounting the work the non-honors kids do." Actual quote.)</p>
<p>-- There are weighted systems (like yours) where taking extra classes actually counts against you. (Too late to change that now, but you might get them to consider taking the best 21 credits rather than all of the credits into their ranking calculations to enhance fairness and incentivize the right choices down the road.)</p>
<p>-- There are cases in which rank is gained by being able to skip requirements (excused from Phys Ed, load up on a weighted class) that others are held to.</p>
<p>-- There are transfer situations in which some good grades are lost (honors weight, "A+" and "B+" go to "A" and "B", etc.) or are not credited at all.</p>
<p>and I'm sure many other situations. They don't seem to understand (or maybe they do!) that admissions decisions and scholarships can hinge on this and that fairness in class ranking equates with merit in academic achievement.</p>
<p>You can only trust that the admissions committees are smart enough to dig into detail beyond rank and GPA and look at the transcript closely. And I think they are. At least they keep insisting that it is the rigor of the curriculum, and not GPA nor class rank, that is paramount.</p>
<p>Ehh, we dont have weighted and non-weighted things in here...I dont know what it means...Can I put 4.0 in the weighted and the non-weighted section ?</p>