Ok, you know how some people have orchestra and stupid NONweighted crap and smmer school?
well, i’m ranked 6th right now. If my GC OMITS those classes(just, state it in the recommendation), could he say:
“He takes many nonweighted courses, and that is the reason why his GPA and rank is so low. Without the orchestra and stuff, he would have a 4.4 GPA instead of a 4.2, making him 3rd in his class. However, he chose to continue his orchestra because he is a dedicated individual”
<p>Couldn't, and won't. If your schools ranks (many don't report rank) then your rank is your rank. After all, there are other students who take courses such as orchestra, and you are compared to your peers at the same school. And your suggestion that the GC say your rank "would be higher if" wont' work, since the poor GC would have to recalculate the whole class just for you. (Others may have taken orchestra, too, you know.)</p>
<p>But keep in mind that schools look at GPA and rank, not just rank. They usually (not always) calculate their own GPA for you, and that means that most take out courses such as orchestra, gym, art, drawing, chorus, etc. In other words, the re-calculated GPA uses academic courses only. Some schools don't count freshman year, others do. </p>
<p>Last comment - there is a difference between being 1 or 2 in class, versus being 4th. But there is no major difference between being 6 versus 3rd. So I wouldn't worry if I were you.</p>
<p>This whole GPA thing is confusing, do they look at the letter grade and then convert it or our actual numeric grades? Because I know some of my B+'s would turn into A-'s at other schools and that can make a big difference.</p>
<p>This may be different, since those were courses in high school, but the competition at my school for valedictorian was crazy. The girl who is now valedictorian had grades from middle school and dual enrollment courses that weren't A's removed from her transcript.</p>
<p>This may or may not help you, but I thought I'd share.</p>
<p>as long as the rest of your grades are solid, then it doesnt matter that you're ranked 6th instead of 3rd. </p>
<p>are you going to be applying to college next year? because if so, colleges will see you have a 4.0 unweighted or something close and be like, why isnt this kid ranked #1? then they note that you have orchestra and know that you've been involved in an extracurricular activity that requires enough time for you to have to take a class on it.</p>
<p>if youre a graduating senior, dont worry about it. you probably wont get valedictorian, and besides, no one's going to care after 3 months when you start getting ready for college. </p>
<p>i have band on my transcript every year, plus a sport too. and senior year i took REGULARS psychology because our psych teacher is amazing. i think i got A LOT more enjoyment doing the things THAT I LOVED rather than going for some class rank that i don't even remember now (somewhere in the top 10). but i DO remember all my experiences with band and my sport and my senior year psych class.</p>
<p>lol, that's the problem
my grades are NOT solid
because we have grade deflation at our school</p>
<p>no 4.0 for me</p>
<p>3.8 --LOW GPA.(with orchestra, and all my summer school, which I get As in)--very Hard Classes.
..then, coupled with those classes...lowerrr rank.</p>
<p>the valedictorian has 4-5 Bs. (I have 6)</p>
<p>so, it will suck for me, because i have a low UW GPA, and a low rank.</p>
<p>Oh my God, a 3.8 GPA and B's on a transcript. This is just terrible. I mean, you might not even be able to get into a "state" school. I mean, you're almost out of the top 3% of your class!</p>
<p>Grades and Rank aren't everything. Orchestra is not everything. You'll make it through.</p>
<p>I also highly suggest you quit complaining. You have no idea what grade deflation is. My school's Valedictorian didn't even have a 4.0. (but, you know, we "didn't keep track"...)</p>
<p>Also, why do your grades from non-core courses bring your GPA DOWN? For most people, those classes are easy As without much hard work and most people are worried because their core GPA is lower than their overall GPA. I guess its good that your core GPA is high, but thats really weird.</p>
<p>Oh, and many schools automatically recalculate your GPA to include only core courses before the adcoms ever see it. So calm down, I'm sure you're going to be getting pi$$ drunk at a wonderful school a year and a half from now.</p>
<p>oh my.....dude 6th to 3rd does not make any difference what so ever. As far as I am concerned, class rank does not mean anything because its what you do and not how many people you are ahead statistically wise that makes you a worthy candidate at good schools</p>
<p>And about B's, theres at least 10 kids in my school that takes a crapload of AP classes but have never gotten a B in their life. You'll be fortunate to be in the top 5% of my school.</p>
<p>So please quit complaining bout this stupid stuff and just work hard</p>
<p>I can understand the poster's frustration. My taking Italian for two years has lowered my GPA so far that instead of being ranked 4th, I would be ranked 2nd if not 1st in my class. My Italian class (taken in addition to a full academic courseload and Spanish) is worth a 4.0 on the weighted scale, while all other classes are worth 4.5-5.0. This brings my weighted GPA down considerably. </p>
<p>Now, does it really matter? Probably not--but it is a real shame that my school, or the poster's school, must bring down an individual's class rank for taking supplemental courses. </p>
<p>I think you have to weigh the value of the classes you choose and not just the numerical gpa. Our school district "penalizes" top students who take fine arts (among other things) by including these unweighted coursed in gpa. You'd actually be better off to take a study hall and do nothing than to take an unweighted course such as music or art. And some kids in search of val status do just that. It's nearly impossible to be valedictorian if you take any unweighted classes. Sad, really. I encourage students to take fulfilling courses that would be meaningful to them, rather than just work the system for the highest gpa. By this time next year, that music or spanish class will mean more to you than a class rank that is a couple of notches higher.</p>
<p>In my son's school, even if a student gets 100 in a unweighted class, it brings his gpa down. So, taking a language or other unweighted class results in a lower gpa than if you took study halls. Like the poster above stated, it is all but impossible to be valedictorian if you take unweighted classes in this sort of system. I think administrators who institute such a system should have a special circle of hell created for them where there is no music or art and no one speaks each other's language. ahhahahha yeah.</p>
<p>wow. i wish all i had to complain about was being ranked 6 out 300 something and a 3.8 gpa. i would kill for that. seriously, relax you are fine!</p>