Hey! So I know that most colleges look at your application relative to other students applying from the same area or school to get an idea of your achievement relative to opportunities, because they know that not every school has NHS, 4H, offers all the AP classes, speech and debate, model UN, math club, etc (all of which my school does not offer).
But, my question is, do they look at your achievement compared to PAST applicants or even past non applicants from your school too? For example, is the college informed (by the guidance counselors) of the highest GPA that has ever been achieved at the high school? In my situation, the highest GPA anyone has gotten at my school was a 4.7 (on a 4.0 scale averaging 4.0 and 5.0 A’s), I have a 4.8 right now, so will AOs see that I took advantage of more opportunities at my school, in terms of offered classes, than anyone else ever has? (or at least in a very long time due to the addition of some AP classes in the past 20 years). Or, will they not see any of that information? Thanks!
What they would normally do is pull a copy of your high school’s profile and have it front of them as they are looking at your transcript. It will provide a clear summary of what opportunities exist in your high school and it
Thank you!
The GC’s report on the Common App will have a question about “course rigor”, which you want to make sure is checked “most rigorous offered”(which in your case sounds like it will. As far as colleges knowing about your GPA possibly being highest ever, I would think your GC would include that in their letter of rec.