Hello everyone! I’m a current high school junior thinking about college admissions, and I’ve come into a roadblock. Essentially, most of what I’ll be putting down on my application seems to be good. 4.0 UW GPA, 2380 SAT, 36 ACT, lots of dedication in ECs…but due to attending an extremely competitive high school and having scheduling issues, my weighted GPA is 4.75 which makes it impossible for me to be in the top 10% of my high school. I’m in the top 25%, but that upper rung is out of my hands. Will this be a major problem for me in college admissions? I plan to apply to highly selective schools such as Carngie Mellon and Vassar, to give an idea of what I’m thinking of.
Having a 4.0 UW should be good enough. As long as you have taken challenging courses(AP’s).
Does your school report class rank? My new theory is that it only matters if the high school reports the rank because the. It effects the admissions stats for the college.
My top 40% kid was just admitted to a top 10 selective school and a lot of other very selective schools. His high school does not report rank.
UW >> W
^^^^Only if the course rigor is there. Achieving a 4.0 simply by taking all lower level classes that don’t challenge that particular student is not looked upon favorably.
Absolutely, @happy1!
Because you are really strong in your testing scores and you have a good GPA, I don’t think your chances of being accepted into those schools will be lessened and I don’t think it will be a major problem. You still have the rest of junior year and part of senior year to bring up your GPA! You could always tell the colleges about your scheduling conflicts. I know at my school, you can send a letter along with your application to the college (or something like that) of any major problems that you had throughout high school like health issues or family issues to let the colleges know.
If you have a highly competitive HS then your GC can tell you what’s happened for students in previous years in your situation.
@whatthewhat Does his HS at least report deciles in the school profile?
Consider that there are some schools viewed as so competitive and rigorous that some barely in the top 50% get into IVY league schools. colleges know (and have rated) each high school so they view your rank in context.
@GrandBudapest his school profile reports the quintiles. As lostaccount intuited above he goes to the most selective independent school in a large metro area.
Thank you for all the responses so far! I just found I’m in the top 11%. Of course. But it does appear that my school reports rank. I’ve taken a good deal of honors and AP classes and always tried to take the highest level courses available to me - I’m just one year ahead in math where most people are two years ahead.