<p>Not taking the most rigorous curriculum in high school looks bad no matter what your gpa is. </p>
<p>Get a copy of your high school's profile. The profile is sent to the colleges along with your transcript. The format of the profiles varies a lot between school districts. Since your school doesn't rank, look at the gpa distribution on the profile if it has one. What you see is what the adcom will see. You are hoping to be in the top 10%.</p>