<p>I was wondering whether colleges take into account the rigor/difficulty of the school when admitting students? How do they asses the rigor? I go to one of the best high schools in the country (#1 in state also). It's really competitive, only students serious about their education go there, with about 350 students total. However, most kids go to state schools or non-competitive colleges, which is totally okay. In last year's graduating class ou of about 65 seniors, 2 went to Uchicago, 1 to Darthmouth, 1 to Cornell, 1 to UCLA, 1 to Georgiatech, and 1 to Vanderbilt. The class as a whole also received more than $15 million in scholaships. And we have an abnormal number of national merit scholar qualifying students in the current senior class (it's like that every yr). There's a huge difference between taking honors/ap classes at a competitive school like this versus one with 1000 students per grade where even the AP classes are easy. At our school, AP classes are required, and honors classes as well. IB is going to be required starting next year. We also have to complete 100 hrs of community service by the end of senior yr and 150 more hrs for IB. Freshmen yr, there's 1 AP class and the rest are honors. Sophomore yr, there's's 2 AP classes and the rest are honors. Junior yr, it's all AP, senior yr it's all IB. Everyone (or almost) takes all the exams. So do colleges take into account the difficulty of the school? And how? Bc I could go to one of the other schools nearby and prob get all A's in AP and honors classes without lifting a finger. I'm a sophomore. Last yr, I got one B (Bio honors). This past semester, I got a B (Algebra 2 w/ Trig) and a C (Chem honors). I literally cried about my C, and it made me wonder if competitive colleges will even take into account how difficult my school is. I mean, would they admit me over a student who goes to a noncompetitive school with all A's? If I get all A's next semester and all A's junior yr (which I really hope I do!!), I'll have a 3.90 (unweighted) by the times I start applying to colleges. And it'll be really high weighed, since all my classes are honors/ap/IB.</p>
<p>Likely the regional college reps are familiar with your school and yes they take it into account to a certain extent.</p>
<p>tip: try a para break esp when changing subjects if you don’t want to be a tl;dr</p>
<p>Top universities have regional reps that will be familiar with your school. That being said a student with a C is not likely to be admitted over a straight A student. As far as AP classes go, the course material is the same nationwide so admission officers are less likely to admit one with a C over with all As.</p>
<p>^This would only be true if it were the two exact same students except for that one class. One C will not kill anybody. Some people have strengths in letter grades, others in ECs, and others in Standardized tests. And no, all AP classes are not created equal. They are taught by separate humans, and humans have varying degrees of standards, so some will be easier to impress whilst others will not. </p>
<p>To answer your question, yes, colleges should be familiar with your school if it is so elite. Also, as recommended previously, try using paragraphs. </p>
<p>Lol, sorry about the paragraph issue everyone</p>
<p>Normally an admissions officer will have access to your school profile so they should be able to take your class rank, list of AP and GPA into context.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>