How important exactly is class rank?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Since I began high school, I've taken the most rigorous courses my school has to offer. The following has been my schedule:</p>

<hr>

<p>FRESHMAN YEAR: Honors History, Honors English I., Honors Geometry, Honors Biology, Spanish I. (general), Computer Applications (req. course)</p>

<p>SOPHOMORE YEAR: AP U.S. History I., Honors English II., Honors Algebra II., Honors Chemistry, Spanish II. (general), Accounting I. (general), Computer Applications II. (general)</p>

<h2>JUNIOR YEAR: AP U.S. History II., Honors English III., Honors Advanced Math, Honors Physics, Graphic Arts (required art class, general)</h2>

<p>Next year, to continue my pattern of taking the most rigorous courses available to me, I must take AP Calculus AND AP Chemistry together or I won't be allowed to take either due to a stupid scheduling system. I would do fine in AP Calc but I'm not confident about AP Chem as many students have failed out of it this year.</p>

<p>So my question is whether I should take the risk and graduate with 7 AP courses or take honors calculus next year in an effort to save my GPA.</p>

<p>As is stands now, I have about a 3.6 weighted GPA, and I stand well under the top 25% of my class. Most of the students ahead of me in class rank take all general courses and 1 or 2 honors/AP classes, giving them upwards of a 4.0. Many students in my class also reap the benefits of taking a study hall to increase their GPA, which I believe is pure laziness to make yourself look better than you are. I want to get the most out of HS as possible.</p>

<p>All input is appreciated,
Thanks</p>

2

<p>It’s importance depends on where you want to go to college. All Ivys/really top schools just about require an applicant to be in the top 10%, and being in the top 5% (if your school ranks like that) would be preferable. It also depends on the competitiveness of your high school. If you go to a good high school, colleges wouldn’t expect your rank to be as high because you are up against tough competition. If you go to a lesser high school, the opposite is true.</p>

3

<p>I’m led to believe that colleges like to use class rank to gauge how you compare to your classmates. An unweighted 3.98 doesn’t look quite as good if you’re also ranked 23 out of 40 students. Some schools aren’t reporting rank any more, because it can give the false impression that a good student isn’t up to par, if that student happens to be part of a strong high school student body. In cases like that, it can hurt some students applying to elite colleges, so it’s in their best interests to remain unranked.</p>

4

<p>I wouldn’t say my high school is above or below average. But I’m definitely not applying to any Ivy leagues. I’ll probably be applying to Rutgers, Baruch, Drexel, and UDel.</p>