GPA vs. Rank?

<p>First Post! Neways, I have a problem with GPA vs. Class rank b'c I have a high GPA - 3.95+ unweighted - with the hardest class difficulty, but my class rank is low -only 40/~700- people at. Will college admins look at my gpa more or will they focus on rank?</p>

<p>Rank is the more important piece of information. Context is everything.</p>

<p>What zagat said. Rank > GPA. Because some schools could have massive grade inflation, and (theoretically) you could have a GPA of 3.98 and below the top 10%. Or, conversely, there could be grade deflation.</p>

<p>Hmm, I'm in a similar situation.</p>

<p>:)</p>

<p>dear pondering monk
rank does matter in many highly selective colleges especially ones using certain formulas as rank helps adcoms a bit more than dealing with grades in terms of getting a feel for how hard-working or talented a student you really are among other good students. However, don't get too psyched out. My S did not have the rank commensurate to his level of difficulty in courses, and many who took easier paths or who avoided arts and all unweighted courses ranked above him with very intentional rank strategy games in course selection. I am not implying they are terrible to do that, but we do need the arts, and in many districts staying in your school arts, music and theater programs means you are never at the top. In the end, he was "rewarded" at admissions based on
a. Passions in extracurriculars and staying true to his school programs
b. for taking the hardest courses available and making As.<br>
So our concern about class rank turned out to not be that big a deal. Rank probably knocked him out of an Ivy, however. But as long as you grasp that there are forty or so schools just as great....Instead, focus on what there is still time for re change..it is too late to worry about moving up in rank: quality essays, quality contributions to your community, maintaining grades senior year, and doing the standardized tests till you feel they truly are reasonably your best effort. Ivies and other schools like that do have to make decisions based on rank but the glut of applicants forces such distinctions. Be your best self and open up your list to wonderful non Ivy-like universities and matches and safties. Put your passion forwards and see what happens. Everyone knows a great talent or other unique factor will sometimes "outrank rank" and that is how it should be.</p>

<p>I believe that, before rank and GPA are even considered, the adcoms of ultra-selective universities will note whether you took the toughest courseload possible at your high school.</p>

<p>You should look at the admissions factors at each college you're looking at to see which will matter more to them. Use CollegeBoard.com to look that information up.</p>

<p>My rank as a transfer is going to be low because we have a huge number of part-time students with 4.0 GPA at my community college. It's not too hard to get an A in every class if you only take one course a semester. My 3.93 is very impressive for a full-time student, but my rank is going to stink. Oh well.</p>

<p>Problem at my school too. We offer like 14 or 15 APs. Some kids take some, some kids take all, and some kids take none. Kids who take no APs walk away with a 1/780 class rank, while kids who challenged themselves drop to 10% - 25%. Therefore we have a weighted rank as well. Our school also sends a note to colleges describing the diverse classes and class choices.</p>

<p>My unweighted rank is in the top 16% while my weighted rank is in the top 4%</p>

<p>I would think GPA>rank. I'm top 1/5th at my private school ranked 11th in the city of Dallas, but I can guarantee you I'd be in the top 3 percent if I were going to the public HS down the street.</p>

<p>Guidance counselors include a page that describes the home school in detail with all applications/recommendations, so that these distinctions can be understood.</p>