Could someone PLEASE just give me some honesty about class rank???

Applying to College
1

<p>Alright so, this needs a little bit of intro but I'll keep it brief!</p>

<p>I transferred from one parochial school to another from my freshman to sophomore year. At my freshman year school classes were not levelled for freshmen, but I was slated to enter all the highest classes my sophomore year. However, I went to a different school who level since freshman year through senior year. Also, their levelling HEAVILY affects your weighted GPA, therefore your class rank. Here's how it works:</p>

<p>CP = +4
CP1 = +8
Honors = +12
Honors 1 = +15
AP = +18</p>

<p>When I entered my soph year I took all Honors 1 classes (no APs are offered for sophomores), and I have taken the hardest possible course load my school offers. My junior year I was the only student to take three APs, and my seniors year I am one of two to take four APs. Through all of this, I have consistently gotten very solid grades (95+ in Honors 1, 90+ at least in AP).</p>

<p>Now, my school only does class rank by decile, so they tell you you're in the top 10%, top 40%, top 60%, etc. They only tell percentile by increments of 10. So imagine my shock when my guidance counselor tells me that I'm in the second decile, meaning the top 20%! She tells me that only 4 people stand between me and the the top 10%, but still!</p>

<p>I was then told that the REASON I'm not in the top 10% is because I transferred. They only gave me Honors level weights, instead of Honors 1 for my work at my other school, and although they doesn't sound terrible, it heavily affected my rank. My counselor told me that if I had been given Honors 1 level weights, I not only would be in the top 10%, but I'd be in the actual top 10. </p>

<p>Now, I am really angry about this because I have worked my a$$ off to try and get to where I am. I have a 2320 SAT, am involved in a good amount of ECs, and am applying ED to Columbia. However, isn't being outside the top 10% a stake in the coffin for almost any non-hooked applicant?? My guidance counselor will be explaining all of this in her recommendation, but I still feel uneasy. </p>

<p>Any advice??</p>

2

<p>If your GC would put what he told you in writing on the Rec form, you’re in great shape, regardless of what the actual numbers say.</p>

3

<p>bbuummmppp</p>

4

<p>You might still have a chance if you can work an explanation of the circumstances somewhere into your application. Preferably this would be by the counselor rather than by yourself, to avoid sounding whiny.</p>

5

<p>I think you should stop worrying about this. Your class rank is not under your control, so control what you CAN control: grades, EC’s, standardized testing. IMO, most elite schools care less about your rank than the other variables. There is a trend away from measuring rank; some high schools eliminate it entirely or rank in deciles (as you know), and some schools can have multiple valedictorians because they have unweighted rank only. Ultimately, you will look crazed and obsessed if you talk about this in your application, so go with the flow.</p>

<p>As an example, my son ended up with a lesser class rank (yes, #2 instead of #1) because of an obsessed student (and parents) who “gamed” the system. In the end, she did not get in to her 1st choice school, and my son did.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

6

<p>^ Your son was #2 in his class. The OP is talking about not being in the top 10%.</p>

<p>There’s a big difference…</p>

7

<p>Geez, reading your OP gave me a major headache. What a h*llish GPA system.</p>

<p>Anyways, just make a note yourself in the “other issues” section of the application, and get a guidance counselor signature.</p>

8

<p>All you can do at this point is explain. </p>

<p>In all honesty, don’t sweat it–most getting into Columbia who are unhooked will be top 2 in their class, not top 10 or top 10%</p>

9

<p>I would talk to the head of counseling and the principal about the situation. See if you can file any sort of appeal about their system, and ask the principal/head counselor to write an additional note about the system and your efforts to appeal your class rank. The more evidence you have on your side, the more weight it carries.</p>

10

<p>Alright thanks.
@hmom, I know columbia is an UBER-reach, so I’m applying ED, but I don’t expect to get in at all. I’m more thinking about schools like Hopkins, Northwestern, and other excellent schools on my list that all want top 10% kids, at minimum.
@midwesterner, I already did try to appeal. My school won’t budge. Trust me, I’ve tried…</p>

11

<p>You could start a “movement” involving students and parents to get the school to rank unweighted. That way colleges will have to look at everything in a comprehensive review of grades, rigor of coursework, essays, competitiveness of the school, class rank, test scores, ECs. They claim to do this already, but I doubt how well they do it. I think today it is more like a beauty contest or a talent assessment.</p>

<p>How could doing this help the OP? He gets one more thing to add to his ECs and brag about in the essay. Many colleges look favorably on how you respond positively to adverse circumstances.</p>

<p>I think yo have a good shot at all those colleges.</p>

12

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<p>Elite colleges have started publishing a lot more data than they used to. Just look at the Brown admission stats for the Class of 2013:</p>

<ul>
<li>77% rejected with CR 800</li>
<li>80% rejected with Math 800</li>
<li>76% rejected with Writing 800</li>
<li><p>67% rejected with ACT 36</p></li>
<li><p>74% Valedictorians rejected</p></li>
<li><p>81% Salutatorians rejected</p></li>
<li><p>86% rejected Top 10%</p></li>
<li><p>98% rejected outside Top 10%</p></li>
<li><p>89% rejected from schools that do not provide class rank</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Actually they show the acceptance rates, I thought it is useful to look at the flip side for perspective.</p>

<p>So it is going to be a crap shoot, no matter what. Think that you have a 2% chance of getting admitted. May be less because they could all be URM, recruit, legacy, or other hook.</p>

13

<p>@blaw, I get what you’re saying, but that system would not work at my school. I have a friend who is in very low level classes, but has a 4.0 UW. However, our valdedictorian, who is EXTREMELY intelligent and has taken all the hardest classes, has like a 3.9 UW (which is almost unheard of with students that take extremely hard courses). If my school were to rank UW, my rank would actually go down, not up, because of the way my school works. 5 different levels of classes (in descending order: AP, H1, H, CP1, CP), each of which is extremely different. I have taken one H course, seven AP courses, and the rest H1, and I can honestly say that AP is about 100x as hard as H-level. Therefore, UW gpas at my school aren’t too great.</p>

14

<p>I know, this GPA and class rank thing is a big mess. They need to figure out a better “college entrance” testing system that does the levelling to allow comparison across different tiers of schools and different tiers of rigor of student course work load and performance. Sort of like the next generation of SAT or ACT tests.</p>

<p>But then they want diversity across geographic, economic, social
etc. dimensions, right. So nothing is likely to change any time soon. That’s why they keep telling us to try and stand out in your essays and EC’s.</p>