<p>I know that if extracurriculars are good, a lower GPA won't look as bad, but this situation is slightly different.</p>
<p>I plan on applying to a couple out of HYPSM, and I'm currently an upcoming junior. From other high schools, I've heard about people who are ranked around 5th in their class and still go to one of them, but my high school is one of the worst, and isn't big on education (no one studies though, and so there are only two people who have gotten straight A's in my class so far, me and one other). My high school only sends weighted GPAs. </p>
<p>Both I and another person are planning to apply to Stanford and a few other colleges, and both of us have achieved straight A's while everyone else hasn't. So technically speaking, we should be tied as valedictorian of our class, but since the school only considers weighted GPA, I'm a point lower. It's not that I don't take rigorous classes though. At my school, there are many honors courses but barely any AP courses. Both he and I take all of the honors and APs offered at school, but the only difference is that I self-study for extra AP exams and he pays to take the courses. While self-studying doesn't count towards your GPA, online courses do. My family can't afford to pay for $350/semester online AP courses, and so that is why I am ranked second in my class at the moment.</p>
<p>I intuitively think that it wouldn't matter, but both of us are applying to the same colleges, and our school rarely ever sends people to ivies anyway (about 2 every 5 years in contrast to the 8+ sent to ivies every year at a school near us). Most likely, only one of us will be able to go to the college we are both applying to, so they'll probably end up comparing our scores (in the case that our other strengths in terms of SATs/extracurriculars are fairly similar). It won't be detrimental to my chances, but will it put me at a disadvantage? </p>
<p>I don't think college admissions officers will know the situation (the price of online AP courses) since they only get the transcript and the GPA, so they'll probably think that the other person showed more "initiative" than I did in taking difficult courses...</p>
<p>Whooaa grammatical error in the first title.
Should be “How important are GPA and rank to colleges”.</p>
<p>Sorry for any syntax/technical errors that may be in my first post. e___e</p>
<p>Oh and by a point, I mean while he has a cumulative GPA of about a 4.7 I have a cumulative GPA of 4.5</p>
<p>In addition, one of my extracurriculars count as a regular class, so that lowers my GPA as well. (Because of that extracurricular, my gpa is averaged with 5 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 4, giving me one extra four to lower my GPA). </p>
<p>The reason my GPA is low should seem like it wouldn’t count against me, but since the colleges I’m applying to don’t look at much aside from the GPA, will it count against me?</p>
<p>GPA and class rank are very important. If you are unhooked (hook = URM, recruited athlete or legacy) then you really need to be in the top 1-2% to be competitive at the Ivy league and similar schools. Including Stanford. If you are looking at 1st or 2nd in your class, then you are fine in that area and your decision will come down to your essays, recommendations, EC’s, etc. Good luck!</p>
<p>I don’t have “hooks” if hooks are USABO finalist/MOSP/TASP/state champion at a varsity sport/legacy/etc. I think my ECs are strong and unique to me, since I’m passionate about what I do, but I’m not one of those people who get first place in everything they do.</p>
<p>I’m ranked second in the class, and I know that salutatorians are often admitted to HYPSM but since the valedictorian (also strong ECs) is also applying to the same colleges as I am, would he have the advantage because of his higher GPA? </p>
<p>The only difference between me and him (besides the fact that we have different passions and therefore, different ECs although we are both dedicated to our ECs) is that I self-study my APs, and he takes online courses for them so that they count towards his GPA.</p>
<p>Just focus on your killer essay! If that’s better than his, and everything else is the same, they you have a better chance.
GPA and class rank are important parts of the application but a 0.2 difference and one spot is more or less the same.
So just focus on the essay and all the other parts where you can show who you are because maybe that other person is kind of boring or uninspiring. Who knows!!</p>
<p>I love writing essays. I hate English, I love writing essays… err… journals, since I don’t like the formality of essays. </p>
<p>I dunno, the other person is really passionate about what he does too so…</p>
<p>That relieves me of my worries just a bit though. I’ll just keep doing what I do and hope for the best since I still have junior year ahead of me.</p>