How much will it hurt me that I might only number 3-4 in a class of ~250?

<p>Do colleges (NYU, UPenn, Columbia, Cornell, Amherst, UC Berkeley) truly care about your exact rank so long you are in the top 5%?</p>

<p>Don’t even bother with those schools! Unless you’re valedictorian, your best chances are a community college. Sorry.</p>

<p>No, child, I am being serious.</p>

<p>I disagree with born2dance94. I think it will be fine. Keep in mind though that they will be looking at how competitive your high school is and the average SAT scores etc of its students; they want to see how well you perform in your setting/compared to your peers (not just what your rank is).</p>

<p>EDIT: don’t let born2dance94, discourage you.</p>

<p>Besides, at my school, most students accepted to NYU aren’t even in the top 10% (i attend a very competitive and well-ranked high school).</p>

<p>My school is not competitive at all. The school is only ~40th in the state.</p>

<p>It’s severely going to hurt you then. Colleges will know that your school is a joke and will scrutinize your application because you aren’t Valedictorian. Good luck at your state school.</p>

<p>Eh you could probably get into an average private school. This will hurt you a lot. Nice try though.</p>

<p>Even with decent SATs (2300+),good ECs (state-level recognition in academic competitions), etc., I still stand no chance? My school isn’t that bad… 10% of the students actually do get into the state flagship(s). Very few ever get into Harvard and the like, though.</p>

<p>Yeah, you’re probably looking at tier two at best. If you apply to anybody in the top 25, the admissions officers will probably personally come to your house to spit on you.</p>

<p>Why does this thread attract trolls?</p>

<p>These guys are pulling your leg because your question makes you sound silly.</p>

<p>No, it doesn’t matter what your exact rank in a class is, if you are in the top 5%. The difference between students at the top of the class is often minute - someone took band which isn’t offered as an honors class. Or someone took an internship so they have one less AP. It makes NO difference at all.</p>

<p>And the reason schools want test scores is so that even if your school isn’t very demanding, they can judge you against some ‘objective’ standard.</p>

<p>Whats your SAT or ACT score?</p>

<ol>
<li>Do not argue with the trolls, it means they win </li>
</ol>

<p>Anyway, no it really does not affect your chances that much. They eliminated ranking/valedictorians in my school system because the differences between ranks were often ridiculously arbitrary. Good Luck :)</p>

<p>I think the ■■■■■ is the one asking if being ranked 3rd in the grade will ruin their chances at top schools.</p>

<p>^ I agree, use common sense… then ask the question on CC</p>

<p>Lulz. Half of my threads are things that are either about other people or on ■■■■■ topics. This is actually a serious thread that applies to me.</p>

<p>Well you seriously need to gain some common sense then.</p>

<p>3-4 in a class of 250 is top 2% of your class by my reckoning. This by itself will neither get you in nor keep you out of any of the schools you’ve listed. Overall, it’s a plus though.</p>

<p>Too many trolls here, to be sure. But I’d also disagree with the "top 5% is fine sentiment. From the experiences of the kids at our local HS, it seems you need to be in the top 1% to have a decent shot at a top 10 school.</p>

<p>More specifically, out of a graduating class of about 300-320 per year, our past few vals have been accepted by Stanford, Princeton, Stanford again, and one pulled the full deal, H, Y, P, S, and MIT. The best sal acceptances were one to Columbia and one to Penn. There have been a couple of #3s to Duke and Northwestern, etc.</p>

<p>A lot of top 5% kids apply to top 10 schools but are largely disappointed if they’re outside the top 2%.</p>

<p>The only exceptions are legacies and recruited athletes.</p>

<p>So, apparently unlike everyone else here, I think the OP asks a reasonable question. </p>

<p>Of course there’s more to the application than just rank, but for schools in the range the OP listed, top 3-4 out of 250 is probably fine for some, borderline for some, and weak for others.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>@Sherpa depends on your school then. Because that’s certainly not true at most schools. Being outside the top 1% does not usually give someone a disadvantage. At my school, anyone ranked in the top 5% has an excellent shot at the ivies, and kids in the top 10% have a fair shot. So anyone ranked in the top 2% like the OP would not be discounted because of their rank.</p>