<p>I went to a difficult high school (top ranked in the state) and I will probably end up with about a 3.6 - 3.65 GPA by the end of junior year. I made the choice to go here because I knew It would be better academically even though i could have gotten a much superior GPA (close to 4.0) at my home high school. Will colleges consider the rigor of the high school I went to and put me close to kids who had a 4.0 at normal high school? </p>
<p>I think it matters, mine is also #1 in my State, and I am sure they lookout for certain high schools.</p>
<p>The regional admissions officers (usually the first or second person to see your application) knows the relative strength of the top high schools in their respective region. Thus they will put your scores into context of the rest of the application pool. </p>
<p>If I had to do it all over again, I’d have talked to D about attending a lesser high school, one where she could more easily have a 4.0 and been ranked in the Top Ten instead of the top 10%. No doubt in my mind. Having said that, I’m happy with the high school education she received. There were just too many kids every bit as good or better than her. If Cornell is going to accept 3 kids from one’s h.s., and there are 30 apps, and there’s a star athlete at the h.s., your ten-percenter’s chances are now 2 in 29 instead of 1 in 10. It’s a numbers game and most of your child’s competition is at your high school.</p>
<p>High school difficulty barely boosts your application. If I could have chosen my high school, I would have went to an inner city high school where I could have been the valedictorian. It’s better to come from a less rigorous high school and “overcome” the challenges than being like top 5% at a competitive high school.</p>
<p>So, you would send your child to a so-so or poor high school so that they would have a marginally better chance of getting into a marginally better college? Not getting this… If you wouldn’t care about the quality of the high school environment and experience, why would you care so much about the minor distinctions between colleges, why not just take a free ride at a third tier college? </p>
<p>Some HSs have very good results at prestigious colleges. Your GC should be able to tell you where 3.6 GPA students have been accepted. That being said, I’m a believer in taking the hardest courses you can wherever you are. Those courses provide the greatest chances for the student to learn and will best prepare you for college. </p>
<p>mathyone, you be the one to tell the 3.7-3.9 student who’s worked her butt off to get into great colleges that now she has to apply only to third-tier schools! Besides, the third-tier aren’t ponying up the kind of money that I’m talking about (with notable exceptions). I don’t care about marginally better colleges (and certainly the diff btw third and first-tier is not marginal). i care about EFC + loans at first-tier schools. Those full tuition scholarships (and I’m not concerned about any other kind) are going to Top Ten students, not top ten percent.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad, I’m in complete agreement with you said. I should also point out that I’m not dependent on the high school (or college) alone to educate her. I know a thing or two about learning.</p>