<p>Hello everyone. I go to a large public school (about 800 kids per grade) and many of the students are very, very competitive. Many people avoid ALL four-point classes by taking gym and health over the summer and getting fine arts waivers.
I'm only a freshman, but I'm concerned that my class rank will suffer because I have taken two four-point classes thus far and will take one next year. This year I took Latin 1 (first-year languages aren't offered in pre-AP) and theater, both of which I enjoy very much and wouldn't have skipped for anything. Next year I will be taking Yearbook, which is another four-pointer. I am now completely out of the running for Valedictorian even though I've gotten all As this year.
My point is this, I guess: I know that class rank is a big issue at top colleges. Will they take into account that I pursued my interests instead of sacrificing happiness for a higher GPA?
Thanks for any help. :)</p>
<p>"My point is this, I guess: I know that class rank is a big issue at top colleges. Will they take into account that I pursued my interests instead of sacrificing happiness for a higher GPA?" That's a mistake. Your school profile which the colleges will refer to will clearly show how strong your achievement will be despite the ranking gamesmanship that unfortunately happens. DOn't worry about Val or whatever. Take what interests you, challenge yourself in areas you wouldn't have thought likely. Perform to please yourself and your curiosity and don't be a grade/GPA chaser. </p>
<p>Frankly, that kind of student is the one that really stands out among the many vals/sals who played it safe. I think I was 15th or so in my class of 200. I was accepted at all my schools. But I took everything rigorous and it showed that I was a learner not just a stats hog. I went to an HYPS eventually.</p>
<p>If you have a passion for the things that you are doing (like theater or yearbook), it matters to colleges much more than just a superficial class rank. Do you think colleges don't know that there are people who try to "beat the system" in order to get valedictorian?</p>
<p>I feel you. Ours is a Magnet IB (~500 people per grade) and the people in IB were handpicked (literally handpicked) from around 1000 applicants from around the county. I'm not trying to rant but I exactly didn't have a solid education in Middle School (VERY recent immigrant) as opposed to the others from AWESOME Magnet Middle Schools, not to mention I work around 30-40 hours a week. I'm probably ranked like Top 20% at best (Our school weighs Honors, AP and IB in the same manner some of us have a disadvantage). Not to mention most people have taken easy (weighed) courses to pad their WGPAs further. However my GPA remains a healthy 3.5</p>
<p>I dunno, just felt like expressing what it was to be a student at our school.</p>
<p>Oasis, I've always had a question in regards to MIT Admissions.</p>
<ol>
<li>Will I be an International (Don't have a Green Card, on Visa till 2011) even if I go to a US school ?</li>
<li>Does passion for politics (or social studies in general count) even if you're interested in Engineering ?</li>
</ol>
<p>^
1. Yes. International/domestic depends on citizenship, regardless of where you are located. I am an US citizen so I actually am in the domestic pool, even though I've lived overseas for 95% of my life.</p>
<ol>
<li>Of course! All of my ECs are generally not science focused (except I competed in a lot of math competitions - but other than that, I never did a science fair). Social studies is a great supplement to a engineering major, because it shows that you are also in tune with the world, rather than being lost in the science bubble. I took all three of the AP history courses (self-studied World and Euro - I got 5's in all three) and I thought that it was not only enjoyable, but probably a boost to my application. I'd imagine that social studies/politics EC would help even more.</li>
</ol>
<p>Whew! Thanks. Well I probably don't stand a chance given how ultra-competitive the International Pool is (that + Echo Baby Boom), but nothing wrong in applying.</p>
<p>Thanks again oasis.</p>
<p>class rank bugs me, people say its a more accurate representation of academic ability, but there are soooo many ways to beat the system (lots of study halls, no ecs, ect). IMO, GPA+Difficulty of course load is more important and I dont understand why class rank is so huge in the Academic Index thing.</p>
<p>don't sweat about ranking so much. I feel you man, I was like you when I was younger. I eventually ended up #33 out of 680 kids. But my transcript showed a whole different image about myself. I took a lot of AP's and a lot of music classes and I got into all my school's that I wanted. I even got into Cal and UCLA. and i decided to go to UCLA. so don't sweat about it to much. try to be different from everyone else, but also be a little competitive.</p>