<p>Do colleges take into consideration if you went to a good high school? My high school is ranked number nine in New J Jersey but my gpa is a 3.12. My school is very hard and some of the lower classes at my school wouldn't even be equal to an honors or ap class at other schools. So would a college(Rutgers) prefer to see higher grades at an easier school or lower grades at a much harder school?</p>
<p>They will take it into account. They mostly look for what you were ABLE to take, and what you DID take, and how WELL you did in those. At a school with no APs you won’t be expected to take AP classes, you will be just as competitive as someone who was able to and did so.</p>
<p>I have seen many members post statistical evidence that even at the very top private boarding schools, students that didn’t have high GPAs there didn’t get into the selective universities much easier than those from a less affluent school with a similar gpa. I don’t have the numbers off the top of my head right now, so take that as unsubstantiated for now. Nonetheless, a 4.0 at a fairly unknown rurual highschool is probably not as good admissions-wise as a 3.7-8 or something from Stuyvesant or Lawrenceville. But a 3.1 would be a bit of a stretch.</p>
<p>Does your school use Naviance? I’d imagine a lot of kids from any high school in NJ apply to Rutgers, so if you have Naviance, check the average GPA (should be weighted on Naviance) and ACT/SAT scores of accepted kids to Rutgers from your school. If not, ask your counselor. </p>
<p>jadepari: did you follow my earlier advice and speak to the best freaking experts on the planet to comment on your situation? The vaunted guidance counselors at your “9th ranked HS in New Jersey” ?</p>