I am a junior in high school whose class rank is a 159 out of 716 students…im an A and B honor role student…but im 22% and last year in my sophmore year i was rank 112 out of 723 at 15%…will this hurt my chances of going to school like University of Texas in Austin (im more concerned about UT its my dream school), Rice, Duke, Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, etc. I know i may not be the best student out there but i do try my best…please don’t sugar coat anything tell me…will this class ranking hurt my chances of getting into college, im stressing out like crazy over this
UT-Austin auto admits the top 6% of Texas high schoolers. 87.1% of UT-Austin freshmen come from the top 10% of their class. So you could apply as one of the 13% that come from outside the top 10%. Your odds aren’t great, but you do have a chance. I would classify this college as being in the “reach” category, though.
As for Rice, Duke, Harvard, Stanford, and Cornell… more than 90% of their freshmen are in the top 10% of their high school class. Unless you are a child of a major donor, recruited athlete, or are bringing an Olympic medal to the table… Round 1 is probably going to be where it ends.
There is no need to be nervous or stressed. There are 2,500 colleges out there. Almost ALL of them that would love to have you study with them. You need to look beyond prestige, though. You are a 22% student looking at top 1% colleges. That can work if you’re from a top ranked high school in the country or have extraordinary achievements to your (or your parents’) name, but the other 99.5% of us need a Plan B. Such as finding an undergrad college that you can get into, afford, and where you can excel, then save the top colleges for grad school. Or blooming where you’re planted, because, as Frank Bruni says, “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be” (read his book!!!).
When you find a college that is in an acceptable location and has your major, run a search for the name of the college plus “common data set”. Check out section C. There is a wealth of information to be found there that will help you ascertain if you are an academic match for the college. Run the Net Price Calculator to see if you are a financial fit, then research, research, research to make sure it is a social fit.
You’re stressed because you are building your college list from the top down, starting with schools that are very long shots for you. What you need to do is to start by finding safety schools, where you’re almost certain to get in, and match schools where you’re well-qualified and have a good chance of getting in. You can always add reaches and super-reaches, but first identify schools that you can afford, that offer what you’re looking for in terms of major/activities/location/vibe/etc, and that match your stats.
What do you want to study? What’s your budget (and do you qualify for financial aid)? What kinds of activities do you enjoy? Do you think you’d be happiest at a large school (like most of the ones you mention) or might a smaller school be better for you? What’s your home state? What’s your actual GPA (weighted and unweighted) and test scores if you have them?
The colleges you named are big reaches for an A/B student assuming you have no hook – in fact they would be reaches for a student with perfect grades. It is fine to apply to a couple of reaches but you need to do the work to create an application list that also includes match and safety schools that appear affordable (run Net Price Calculators) and that you would be excited to attend. There are tons of amazing colleges and universities out there.