Is my class rank being 8 of 917 a good ranking for Ivy?

I’m currently a sophomore and my rankings just came out and all of my family members have been discouraging me, stating that my rank in isn’t good enough and that I now have no chance for Ivy. However, none of them know anything about US universities so I’m writing here for more reliable information. Thank you.

Your ranking is in the top 1% but what is the rest of your profile?

Well, I’m Korean-American citizen, raised by single parent, in Academic Decathlon, and film officer in photography club. I don’t have much else so far.

Come back when you have a GPA and SAT/ACT scores.

Please feel free to ask them what their HS ranks were.:slight_smile:

Your rank is fine. However rank is just one portion of the admissions package.

You should tell your parent, respectfully, of course, that they should start reading up about the requirements for an Ivy admissions. As it is, they seem to have at least one unsupported and incorrect assumption, and may have more. The more they know, as opposed to assume, based on what somebody told them, the better they can help you find a college where you will thrive.

Being in the top 1% of your class is an amazing ranking for an Ivy. Keep up the good work.

As an aside - while you should do as well as you can in school, and aiming at achieving Ivy worthy stats is a good way to ensure this, don’t build your entire school future for the sole purpose of “getting into an Ivy”. The name of your undergraduate school is such a small part of your life, so don’t make it your entire focus throughout high school.

I’ve taken one SAT so far and got a 1430. My GPA weighted is a 5.1364.

Your UW GPA is what matters. Your WGPA is meaningless outside of your HS.

@youngkmin Have a look at this article I found recently by a former Harvard admissions committee member: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/what-we-look/valuing-creative-reflective It’s actually kind of funny, because it gives the general impression that Harvard deeply regrets all the famous historical people who never attended.

It’s a long article, but it’s great because it spells out what they want. If your name will be in the history books someday, then Harvard is definitely interested.

Top 1% of class is always good. Some colleges group college applications by school so you will definitely standout.

This could be the most problematic issue at Ivy League schools and a number of other schools if your parents are divorced and uncooperative, and you need financial aid to be able to afford attending.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2083835-faq-divorced-parents-financial-aid-and-net-price-calculators.html

Most students attending ivies do not submit class rank. For example, Brown’s common data set indicates that only 25% of the class submitted rank. If your HS is among the minority that submits rank, I’m puzzled why you’d think a top 1% rank is not high enough. Most matriculating students are not top 1% of their class.

Even being val would guarantee nothing. Right now, learn what holistic admissions means and build your ECs. The fact you gave the weighted GPA, in itself, suggests there’s much to learn. Aim to glean from what the colleges say, not pro advisor web blogs or the general public.

Vast majority of the students that apply to Ivys and other top schools meet the academic requirements. Believe it or not they lack the tier one activities. In my opinion your grades are fine, but your extracurriculars are what will keep you out. You need activities that you have been committed to for a long time and ones where you have achieved leadership positions. Do some research and see if this is something you can work on. Also, look into the top liberal arts colleges. They provide ivy caliber education, yet are a little easier to get into.

If you are rejected by ivies, which is the most likely outcome for any applicant, your class rank won’t be the reason.

@Data10 most elite private prep high schools don’t rank specifically not to disadvantage their applicants. That is likely why so many Ivie’s may not have that data for a lot of their enrollees. Although harvard says on it CDS it does not consider class rank for Princeton it checks the most important box for class rank.
Further in some states including mine, by law the official transcript reported to colleges must include class rank.
here’s princeton’s https://registrar.princeton.edu/university_enrollment_sta/common_cds_2017-2018.pdf

so I guess it depends how much a kid wants to trust AO and what they say on their CDS. But yes many explicitly check the box about considering class rank. (another area that benefits the wealthy that send their kids to private schools)

@damon30 so true and so difficult for people to “get”. Most of these parents pushing their kids to get A’s at all cost and to mold themselves into what they think the “top” schools are looking for end up not understanding how it is that their straight A plus 1600 scored student is rejected from them. That’s because these schools are not looking for high school valedictorians who’ve spent hours upon hours preparing with tutors to nab a top test score. In fact, the Valedictorian is probably often the antithesis of what these schools seek-although not always. Depends upon how that was achieved-as a goal (usually and not desirable) or just happenstance. People complain that the “top” schools aren’t transparent enough. They should simply say, “Be Beethoven, Emily Dickinson, Picasso, F.L. Wright”. Luckily for 99% of the population, there are hundreds of other schools that would welcome most students even if they aren’t headline bound.

It’s not just elite private prep schools that aren’t ranking students. Most high schools in the United States as a whole no longer rank students. Among the minority of high schools that do rank students, some make submitting rank to colleges optional. The percentage of high schools submitting rank is even lower than overall national average among HSs in higher SES districts, which are common among Ivy applicants and posters on this forum.

If you look at non-elite public colleges in most states (not all states), which get few “elite private prep high school students”, a large portion of students still do not submit rank. The first ones that I searched for are below. I chose publics in northeast states that get a lot of Ivy enrolls.

SUNY Albany – 22% submitted class rank
UMass Amherst – 33% submitted class rank
Rutgers – 42% submitted class rank

Regardless of whether the OP’s high school is in the minority that submits rank, his top 1% ranking is fine for Ivies.

The older generation of Korean-Americans typically have the same old perception of the college admission system that they themselves grew up back in South Korea where they place the highest premium on test scores and grades. The social and psychological problems associated with the most intense college admission system in South Korea have now even made into the most popular and the highest-rated drama in Korean cable TV history, “Sky Castle.” This dark satirical drama should be seen by any Korean parents who resort to pushing their children relentlessly for the glory of “Seoul National University” or, in the case of Korean-Americans, the “Ivy League” (not-so-subtle hint to the OP).

A good friend of mine, a Seoul National University graduate, here in the states, thought that his son was so sure to get into the very top Ivy League colleges, based on perfect GPA and near perfect SAT scores, that his son applied only to HYP in the Ivy League. My friend was in for a shock. His son was rejected by all three. Good thing his son had a few other backup choices. My friend is not an exception among Korean-Americans in their lack of proper understanding of how the American college admission system works.

OP, you don’t have to earn perfect GPA, perfect SAT and graduate valedictorian in order to be accepted into any top schools. To give you a perspective on this matter, my son graduated 6/350 with just enough GPA and SAT/ACT scores to be within the “range” of acceptability. In his sophomore year, when for the first time he had expressed his desire to go for the valedictorian honor (he had straight A’s up to that point), I strongly dissuaded him from adding any more pressure upon himself. Instead, he was encouraged to spend more of his time not only on his significant EC’s (music) but also to enjoy all that high school had to offer so he’ll have zero regrets years down the road. Graduating 6th in his class, however, didn’t prevent him from successful college admission results. While perfect GPA, perfect SAT scores and being valedictorian in your class are certainly not required to enjoy successful entrances to top schools, you do need a way to distinguish yourself, however, to boost your chances through EC’s, essays, LOR’s, etc.