"First" in class / top 10%?

Applying to College
1

<p>Quick question: </p>

<p>I'm in a school where our GPA system is pretty... lax. We get a year-long grade for each course -- 3.5+ translates to a 4.0, 2.5+ is a 3.0, etc -- and these overall grades are what factor into our cumulative GPA. Therefore, each year, 20+ kids graduate with unweighted 4.0s. (Understand: our grades aren't incredibly inflated and our courses are pretty challenging, but the whole not-needing-straight-A's-to-get-a-4.0 thing helps.) </p>

<p>My class has about 400 kids, I'm guessing, and at the end of junior year it's quite possible that 40 of us will have unweighted 4.0s. So, when I apply to schools, will I have to say that I'm only in the top 10%? But will I say that I'm first, as well, since all 40 of us will be tied for first? How will this look? </p>

<p>Also: do schools ask for weighted ranks? I'm definitely in the top 1% weighted, so that would help.</p>

2

<p>Your college counselor should be able to pass this information along to the colleges in a way that reflects well on you. Ask him or her how they handle it.</p>

3

<p>Usually on those secondary school and midyear reports, it asks for the rank before any certain decile. </p>

<p>You will NEVER be penalized for tying with people, especially if your high school is odd like that.</p>

4

<p>I know for Columbia, they ask for both [un]weighted ranks along with what the [un]weighted GPA is that is first rank. They also ask how many people you're tied with for the [un]weighted rank.</p>