<p>Just a few days ago, my teacher told the class that my high school was in the top 50 in my state. Does that even affect college admission at all? Do they even look at that kind of stuff? If it doesn't, does it mean that its better to go to a less competitive high school int order to boost your chances?</p>
<p>It’s important. Going to a better highschool helps. It puts your GPA/rank in perspective. </p>
<p>A 3.8/ top 10% in a great highschool is a MUCH better applicant than a 3.8/ top 10% in an average highschool.</p>
<p>Yes and no. </p>
<p>Yes because colleges know that students coming from high schools with more rigorous courses are likely to be better prepared. </p>
<p>No because colleges also know that the published rankings are meaningless nonsense. They know what the good high schools are and don’t need USNWR to tell them.</p>
<p>Top 50 in your state doesn’t mean much. The best way to see UW colleges view your high school is by looking at historical acceptance data.</p>
<p>^ Yes to Waverly.</p>
<p>The USNWR high school ranking is not to be believed. Where I live, there are 4-5 top high schools by consensus and they are known for their curricula, student demographics, and college placement. But none of them are even ranked this year by USNWR. In contrary, several rather average schools are ranked decently. People in the local education circle are pretty puzzled. I was told that the magazine ranks the schools based on how they perform against expectations, which of course do not say much about relative merits between schools. </p>
<p>Most top colleges, the ones recruit nationally and have admission officers cover specific geographic areas, do know very well which high schools are likely to produce students they desire.</p>
<p>It does. It’s a crock of **** but it does</p>
<p>Top 50 in the state?
If it was top 50 in the nation, it’d be different. But I attended a top 10 school in the state, and was denied by my flagship while accepted at an Ivy.
However, the name of your school doesn’t mean much if it’s amongst the competitive. Nothing really means much. Only you are.</p>