<p>Ok, so as i go through filling out my apps, this whole business about class rank bothers me.</p>
<p>I think it is THE worst criteria for college admissions possible. It tells absolutely NOTHING!!! And for the schools that only offer programs to students who are high in their class ranking, then they are so incredibly stupid that they do not even deserve to be considered a credible university.</p>
<p>Now let me give you some justification. My school is quite competitive. My first decile starts at approx 4.1 and continues to 4.66. I have a 4.0 which puts myself in the 2nd decile. Now I have taken 8 AP's and have worked my tail off, as did the kids in the first decile. HOWEVER, if i were to go to sum god foresaken place in some small town USA school, i would be valedictorian! </p>
<p>Because of my ranking in the 2nd decile, I am not able to apply for some combined medical programs that are only offered to students in the top 10% of their class. So there you go, you can have sum kid with a 3.4 who is top 10% and skated his way through because his school isnt tough who has a better shot then I do at this program just because he is in the top 10%. IM NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO APPLY!!!!</p>
<p>Class ranking limits people like myself from opportunities. Schools should just judge based on GPA and the academic reputation of a given high school!</p>
<p>See I sort of agree with you but sort of don't. I go to a medium size high school...well about 1200 kids total, like 300 per class. Tell me, how many students are in your class? Basing on academic reputation of school is far from fair to the hard workers of small schools. Also many schools do not even offer these 8 APs you talk about. Rank is rather important because it shows how student X is doing compared to student Y within the school. If your school is more competitive, that will go into account though.</p>
<p>I agree. My graduating class is over 1200 kids. It is also one of the top HS in the nation as more than once we have had more Intel Semi-Finalists that any other school. What do you think it takes to be in the top 10%? I can honestly say I am not even close...</p>
<p>Don't worry. Colleges will definitely take those into consideration. Just try your best to keep up good work and you'll end up at a great place.</p>
<p>Doogie, I honestly don't know what "combined medical [undergrad?] programs" those would be (though I'd be very interested to learn, if you'd care to share). However, if your school is as competitive as you say it is, then most college admissions offices would know that. Yes, certainly, if there is a rank cutoff for application, I guess there's nothing you could do about that -- short of petitioning the program, possibly (which would also demonstrate a great deal of interest, naturally). Would there be any harm in contacting the administrators of the "combined medical programs," explaining what you've mentioned here? Also, I wonder -- & especially if such combined programs are quite important to you -- if you would feel it worth it to take a gap year, while interning in some medical environment. Would that make you more "qualified" for one of those programs?</p>
<p>i have over 1500 hours on an ambulance and 200 hours shadowing various physicians. My SAT scores are competitive, along with my GPA and courseload.</p>
<p>Admission to the Special Program in Medicine and Dental Medicine is highly selective. About a dozen students are admitted each year. It is the only program of its kind offered by a public university in New England. Students that want to be considered for the Medical program should have a high school class ranking in the top 5 percent, an overall grade point average of 3.5 or higher, and an SAT combined critical reading and math score of 1300 or an ACT composite score of 30. </p>
<p>That is from UCONN's website. I even gave the school a call to see if i could still apply because my scores are all above that with the exception of my class ranking, and they said I wouldnt be considered because it is a requirement to be in the top 5%.</p>
<p>Granted with those minimum scores, you wouldnt exactly be a top notch candidate but at least they have a chance because they applied. I cant even apply. </p>
<p>I feel i would have a decent shot because i dont think too many other applicants have 1500 hours of clinical experience in a medical field.</p>
<p>I agree to a certain extent. I think with my grades, I can probably have gone to some small town crappy high school and became valedictorian. However, colleges do look at the prestige of your high school. Fortunately for me, my senior class only as 17 students, so we have no class rankings.</p>
<p>Also, btw, villanova only gives merit $ to students in the top 10 percent of their high schools who are accepted. So sum1 with a GPA of 3.5 who is top 10% at his high school is getting more merit money thn me because my school is tougher. Where is the justice?</p>
<p>not necessarily, who is to say that these students just have a below average class for their year. Take my school for example.</p>
<p>My first decile is 4.1 to 4.66, second decile is 3.7-4.0</p>
<p>The current juniors at my school have a first decile from 3.7-4.6 and a second decile of 3.4-3.6.</p>
<p>Class rank is giving underserving kids opportunities and is taking them away from deserving kids who may have worked hard in a very competitive class.</p>
<p>i think i have the worst issue with class rank</p>
<p>43 kids</p>
<p>unweighted (so the 5 kids above me can take Remedial Intro to Pre-Calculus, get an easy 100, and get merit money for state schools)</p>
<p>it's one thing when your schedule difficulty is taken into account, and you can work your a** off in hard classes and rank high. But when my 100 in AP Physics contributes the same to a GPA as another kid's 100 in Pottery, there is something wrong.</p>
<p>But without class rank there would be no way to distinguish between schools. Some schools are grade inflated, some follow the bell curve, and some are brutal. If you can come up with a way to measure this factor without a class rank, then you will win your argument.
Other people are saying that you have the same opportunity as the number 1 kid in your school. The same classes are available to the both of you. It is up to you to decide who finishes better.
My class has a good ranking system. It is on a 10 point scale that is done in 5 point grade increments. In Ap 95 =10, 90=9 and then in honors it shifts down so that 95=9 90=8 and then level one it shifts down again. The highest attainable is like a 9.3, but that was only achieved because they counted some kids college math classes as AP's, and he got 100s in them.</p>
<p>what are you talking about. Me and the number 1 kid at sum school in the sticks of Wisconsin do not have the same classes. Hes probably taking the math i took when i was in the 8th grade.</p>
<p>And how does ranking distinguish between schools??? I just showed u the difference between my year and the class of 2007 at my HS. They have dismal stats, but my school is still top notch.</p>
<p>"I agree to a certain extent. I think with my grades, I can probably have gone to some small town crappy high school and became valedictorian. However, colleges do look at the prestige of your high school. Fortunately for me, my senior class only as 17 students, so we have no class rankings."</p>
<p>sorry but isnt only 17 kids a small town crappy high school?</p>
<p>Again, they compare standardize tests against the gpas of a school. With the same sats, they are able to see the way that gpa is with each school. Since they can not force each school to teach a set curriculum, they have to use the gpas vs standardize tests that each school gets. This is where school rankings come into play. Now, at each school, there are teachers who grade the same way. These teachers make up the way a school grades. If the teachers give lots of A's, the school will have high gpas. THe only way to distinguish between the people who get lots of A's is to have rank. Princeton has a cap to how many A's they can give, and I think that they have kids who are smarter than those who are at your high school.</p>
<p>The United States does not have an equal distribution of wealth. You must be in done with calc, multivar calc, abstract algebra and number theory in your school. That is quite an accomplishment. Most schools dont have the teachers or the resources to teach these advanced courses. Its nice to know that you are for the further economical seperation in the united states.</p>
<p>ok but rank doesnt need to be used. Schools can still look at the SAT and GPA distribution of the school and not set requirements based on rank for programs like i described.</p>