How important is HS rank?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi everyone, I'm new to the forums, so please be nice haha :D. I have two questions, the first of which is the title. </p>

<p>First off, some information about myself.
GPA unweighted: 4.0
Currently in 10th grade MYP (middle years program for IB)
Practice PSAT: 221
Practice SAT: 2150
Active in FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), JSA (Junior Statesmen of America), and Key Club.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How important is the ranking of my high school? I've looked at all of the notable alumni of my high school in the past six years, and only two people have made it into Yale and Harvard. My school's education standards are very low, as it is mainly an athletics school. The average grade in classes are C's and below, so thus it really isn't hard to stay at the top here.
Considering the frighteningly low amount of Ivy League admissions, I'm considering transfering to Troy High School in Fullerton, CA, which is in the top 30 of the USA I believe. However, I will have to get my own apartment in order to be in their admission area.(parents do support this) This is the closest high quality high school there is near my residence. Apparently, many people from Troy end up going to a high-ranked college, and that is one of my main goals. Is it truly worth it to change schools and pay thousands of dollars a year? Again, my parents suggested it and will pay fully. :P</p></li>
<li><p>Besides my prospects of the top universities in the USA, I also have interest in attending a international university in Asia. The ones I would like to study at the most are Beijing University, Taiwan University, Tokyo University, and Kyoto University. I am fluent in Chinese and allright at Japanese.
How will the IB program help my chances of getting into any of those? According to family, the only deciding factor in Asian college admission is an examination. I've always been told that IB is good for international study. I'm sorry I'm just throwing this out there, but if anyone knows about these universities, please post about it.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>This was a really long post, and if any of you read it all, congratulations. Thanks alot in advance to anyone who answers these questions.</p>

2

<p>For US colleges, being at the very top of a school like your current one and participating in many state/national competitions, developing leadership there and spending summers for academic enrichment would probably make you more competitive at top colleges than say being top 5% at Troy.</p>

3

<p>Bump (post too short)</p>

4

<p>Stay where you are, distinguish yourself and you will be okay.</p>

5

<p>The matriculation to top colleges from Troy isn’t that impressive if you take into account how ridiculous the workload is at that school.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It’s all about context. If you rank highly within your class at a lesser-known school and can back that rank up with good test scores, your HS cannot hurt you. </p></li>
<li><p>IB is internationally known so I imagine it would help you, but I’m not familiar with Asian universities.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Seriously, just stay where you are and succeed within your context. If you go to Troy, chances are you’ll turn into an academic grind. You’ll have very little time for EC’s and will not enjoy high school,</p>

6

<p>agree with hmom5</p>