<p>Not saying I’m the smartest, simply showing how it’s not fair, in my opinion. Thanks for your input, also.</p>
<p>No one “knows”. Please don’t take my “top 5” comment as gospel. I’m just giving data from my own D’s school experience. But the process IS holistic 9though, if you top 5 didn’t apply, they won’t have any comparison re: ECs, etc…again…THAT is why they look at everything. And maybe you have a GREAT high school (I didn’t go back and re look at the thread to see if you described it). Admissions DOES look at your entire application. But, with 10+ applications for every spot…well, they have to go by some numbers. </p>
<p>My own D is a lot like you - there is no WAY she SHOULD have the rank she does - BUT …she sure does! She “earned” it, gotta live with it. The number does SAY something to admissions, and it’s not “hey, look at me…I’m the best!”. It was due, in part, to her insistance that she be in every performing arts class there is (ok, hyperbole) - so she lacks weight. But it’s also due to one bad semester when moving schools. She was top few kids at old school, and SHOULD be at new school, but…now she PROBABLY won’t even be looked at by Ivies. She applied anyway. All her standardized test scores are top 1%, but…GPA is still king. </p>
<p>If “top 5” from YOUR school don’t apply to Princeton…then the school doesn’t SEE their rigor. Hopefully your counselor’s report will help explain things in a way that might help you. </p>
<p>But, MANY kids, including my D…had no one to explain that one needed to work harder from day 1 in high school for elite colleges. I never went to college, so I was no help. And I don’t think either of us felt she’d even apply to top colleges. </p>
<p>My D’s school also ranks on weighted grades…most do. That’s the purpose of the weight, to compare one child to another WITHIN the school. And this is why-look at this in the reverse. </p>
<p>Student #1 takes no honors or AP classes, and their electives are art classes, not extra math. They get all As and end up valedictorian. </p>
<p>Student #2 is a whiz kid. They take ALL honors and/or AP right from the start, eschew the arts (atc) and take extra math, science, languages. Again, all those are honors/AP. This child gets all As too…except two A- in two AP classes. They end up 2nd. </p>
<p>HUH? So it works in the reverse too. Depends on your vantage point. It’s not that anyone TOOK AWAY the weight from you, but that these kids worked harder and ADDED the weight. Obviously the above is the extreme to show a point…but…weight matters, and should. It’s also “not fair” for a person to be tops in their class by aceing Basket Weaving.</p>
<p>So, the fact you didn’t KNOW earlier is certainly tough…but you are NOT alone. Only kids with a REAL PLAN and lots of guidance from 9th grade end up in those very top spots. </p>
<p>Sorry I talked a bit in circles here. Listen…it’s ALL good. You’ve done what you can do…done it well…now all you can do is wait and hope…like everyone. I wish you luck - EVERY applicant needs it. And lots of them/you have 20/20 hindsight. I’m sure lots of people would change lots of things if they could.</p>
<p>Maybe this will help:
My school is a large and very competitive public - AP/honors classes are weighted as 5.0s, and the cutoff for top 10% is about 4.6.
However, schools are definitely aware of the cutthroat nature of our school’s GPA game. Last year, between five and seven people were accepted to Harvard - and while all of them had a respectable rank (probably top 5%), the majority were NOT in the “top handful” (top five places).
I’m ranked 12/750, and while I don’t fancy my Pton chances are especially high, I’m pretty sure that if I don’t get in, it will not be because of my rank.
No worries. Your rank is absolutely fine.</p>
<p>I was 11/345 and still got in. </p>
<p>Honestly there’s no reason to stress about it now, what’s done is done, just do your best at improving the other aspects of your application (I think essays/ECs are key).</p>
<p>Okay, I am a little bit relieved now. I am now rank 16/587. My school is a mediocre and large public school.</p>
<p>I know people will apply for top colleges, but I’m not sure if Princeton is one of those. What I am wondering is, even if I am the only one in my school applying, doesn’t Princeton see the other people anyway, from the common application stuff the counselor fills out? Such as the rank 1 GPA, number of AP’s offered, and the check box of how rigorous a course load is?</p>
<p>Anyways though, I am relieved for a few days at least. I am mostly mad at myself for not picking better classes or changing my schedule when I could have.</p>
<p>I am still ready and willing to hear comments, and I don’t want this thread to be “closed”.</p>
<p>P.S.-Thanks for supporting me.</p>
<p>It’s hard, because parents don’t always know what’s right. I didn’t attend college. So I “allowed” my daughter to pursue her passion in ALL the performing arts. I STILL think it’s the correct answer, but she’s lamenting her GPA/RANK as well. Should I have not allowed her to take so many PA classes? I don’t think that for a minute. She just has to live with the fact that she won’t get into the schools she wants to get into. And, while she’s still hurting, she’ll get over it. I believe 16/587 is a perfectly fine place to be for CONSIDERATION…and that’s all that MOST applicants can expect.</p>
<p>I see, thank you very much. Also, I am pretty sure I am the crazy one, not my parents. I think most high schoolers get caught up in things.</p>
<p>Another question: You have to send mid-year report to Princeton, right? Mid-year is about January, and results are May 1. Does this mean if my rank continues to climb from my senior schedule that my mid-year report will be used in the decision between January and May, potentially helping me by being an application with an upward trend?</p>
<p>It really just depends on how well your school does with colleges/ competitiveness of your school. If only the val gets into an Ivy every year, well, your rank doesn’t mean anything. But on the other hand, if around 5-10% of your class gets into the top colleges, you’re in good shape… But ideally, colleges are just looking for a top 10% ranking and a rigourous course load.</p>
<p>At my school the top 10% go to the University of Florida, and maybe one or two go somewhere good. My school is full of idiots. Never heard of anyone from my school going to an Ivy, only one going to Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>This is why I am so set on my rank.</p>
<p>If it helps at all, I’m a legacy. My dad got a B.A. in Philosophy in '85.</p>
<p>What exactly makes those other schools not “good”? What makes your classmates “idiots”?</p>
<p>tigerton- Just a small correction- the date for acceptances is April 1st, not May. May 1st is the day admitted students must respond to their colleges to tell them if they are attending or not.</p>
<p>My school doesn’t even have class rank-politically correct school district… almost everyone in the magnet class of 150 takes full AP/IB classes and 25% have 2300+ sat scores… but not many people get in maybe cause they don’t care about extracurriculars</p>
<p>Starbuck11, my apologies. I was too rash. What I mean is, most people at my school are thrilled just to get into the University of Florida. About a fifth of my class has dropped out by now, and I’m ranked 16 with a GPA of only 4.6. I don’t want to seem like a bombastic jerk.</p>
<p>I don’t KNOW if midyear reports will help, don’t know when they’ll be received, etc. But that’s why they ask for them, so they can SEE them and see how you’re doing. So - they’ll be getting those mid year transcripts soon, there is plenty of time for them to still be reviewed before decisions on 4/1. So, yes…they’ll “help”, if you’re moving up. How much? No one knows? Probably depends where you were in the “selection pile” at that point (IF your app has even been looked at yet!). It’s a tiny blip, but it’s there. I know my daughter is very anxious for her mid year reports to be taken into consideration also…she’s back to a 3.9 (4.9w) and her rank is improving too. But it’s hard to move around much at this point, and in a school her size. But her school had 100 kids drop out between Jr and Sr year (yikes). So her rank dropped precipitously because of course these were all the lowest students. Certainly an upward trend is better than downward. Good luck to you. TRY to stop stressing…do your best from this day forward. It’s out of your hands now. “It is what it is”. If you end up at your state school (like my D)…you’ll be a standout there, and you can excel and maybe get scholarships for grad school…??</p>
<p>Thank you very much. I will do my best to relax. Tell your daughter good luck : ).</p>