Do colleges know or take into account the high school that I went to. I went to a to top top ranked public high school in California and I just want to know if the colleges take into account that our school is a good school with harder curriculum than others?
I am wondering this too. My younger son is at an very competitive suburban high school where it is nearly impossible to get into honors and advanced classes. It actually takes a lot of work to get a B+ at this school. When it comes time to apply to colleges will they know these factors or how do you indicate it on an application? It is also hard to win awards at such a large high school. I’m concerned there will be nothing to fill in on that section of the ap. Does anyone have any insight or advice?
From what I’ve read, yes they do take into account the school you went to–that’s part of the “holistic approach” in the admissions process. So they will look to see the academic rigor, ranking, the socioeconomic situation, etc.
Yes. Most colleges break out AO’s regionally, so an AO would be well familiar with the top HS’s in his/her area. Additionally, most HS’s send out a school profile which sums up the school, giving data on GPA distribution, SAT/ACT scores, previous college matriculations, etc.
Yes, admissions officers are typically familiar with the high schools in the area they cover and the HS will provide a school profile so your transcript will be read in the proper context. FWIW my kids went to a highly competitive public HS and I think it was an overall positive in terms of the college admissions process (and as a bonus, they were very well prepared for college level work).
Do you mean “most colleges” or “most highly selective colleges”?
As with most things, it depends. At the college where D ultimately matriculated, the college admissions counselor for D’s geographic area was a brand new graduate of the college with a prep high school background from another state. I sincerely doubt he knew much at all about D’s public high school. While visiting a peer school to the one D is now attending, I met a former high school classmate who is an admission officer at this peer school. I told her a little about the highly competitive environment at D’s high school, and asked her honestly if she was aware of the academic environment in NJ high schools like ours. She admitted that she had had no idea.
As the mom of a freshman college student who graduated from one of the top early college high schools in Texas I am going to say, no. Not only did that not play into any decision they also seem to be focused on grade over substance. So if you could stretch to A-B in an AP class or duel credit or play it safe in on level take the on-level class. The college most likely will not accept any duel credit earned and they are more focused on top ten than how they got there. Most of our friends who have early college students and they have lost all but 12 hours earned and because the elite class was only 80 students most of them did not get in a dream school. Instead they have an associates degree and are attending their second, third or a choice they had not really considered.
Definitely when doing dual enrollment, if you want to keep those credits you need to shop for colleges with that in mind. Of the five schools on my own daughter’s list, only two will take a large number of advanced standing credits earned in high school.
The accepted students at the most elite colleges have the grades and course rigor as well as substantial extracurricular commitments and accomplishments. Because these types of dream schools take so few students, it’s important to have considered your backup schools carefully.
Admissions counselors who are not familiar with a high school will read the school profile provided in the counselor section. That information is available to all families. If your profile does not reflect your school well, you should work with your school to update it. Most schools include typical GPAs, number of AP and other advanced course opportunities, number of kids going on to college, etc. This gives the counselor an idea of how competitive and rigorous the environment is.
Many if not all admissions software programs have a rating system for high schools and assign a number (so, for ex, the highest competitive college prep school would have a number like 99.5). Whether that number is based on the college’s own input or the system’s assessment, I do not know. And whether or not AOs use this rating in their deliberations probably depends on the school. But they have the information at a quick glance (in addition to having the HS report / class profile).