<p>I'm a prospective student, presently giving my XI Annuals and I have a question about my class rank. It is possible that I will not have the results of my XII Pre-Board Annuals before I apply, so I won't be able to use the rank obtained on that exam. Can I use my XII Half-Yearly rank instead ? When they ask about Class Rank, it is , technically, the most recently obtained value of class rank, correct ? As in, will I have to submit all the class ranks from IX onwards or just the most recent value obtainable ?</p>
<p>Ok, so when you apply through the Commonapp(most colleges ask you to do so) - you will have to indicate your most recent class rank(1st sem, 2nd sem, mid year, whatever you have).
Additionally your counselor will have to send your H.S. transcripts for 9th,10th,11th & 12th standard. These may/may not have your class rank depending upon your H.S. transcript format. Either way your counselor will have to fill in a secondary school report which also contains a space for “most recent class rank”.</p>
<p>Hope this helped!! All the best!</p>
<p>Well, so let me see if I get this straight.</p>
<p>If I apply via commonapp, I’ll specify that I’m in grade XII, and give them my HY rank ( 1st Sem, I suppose ) or Annual rank if I have that instead. ( 2nd Sem. )</p>
<p>My HS doesn’t give ranks on transcripts. So, will I still have to give my rank and will my counselor have to give my rank ? Would it be acceptable if I badgered my school into giving me a modified transcript with the class rank on it ? And if I don’t have the class ranks on the transcripts, giving them won’t count as fabrication of data, right ?</p>
<p>You got the first part right.</p>
<p>If your HS doesn’t give the rank on transcripts, there’s no problem. Your counselor has a separate field - where he/she can enter your current rank(for verification of what you previously entered on the commonapp yourself). However if you feel that your class rank over the years displays a certain consistency that your transcripts don’t necessarily show - then you could try asking them for modified transcripts with the rank on them. However - for that to happen your school needs to maintain a database of sorts. Either way, it doesn’t really matter whether your counselor uploads a transcript with/without the ranks!</p>
<p>Hmm. If my XI rank beats my rank in class XII, can I use that instead, or would that count as falsification ?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t do that. It ain’t right.</p>
<p>You are thinking on the wrong lines. Knowing that you need to submit your class rank - you should be geared up for your 12th Ist sem exam and do your best.</p>
<p>Either way - the class rank isn’t going to be a deal breaker, unless of course it is quite low.</p>
<p>Wait a minute. Is your XII class rank only taking into account your grades for this year? and also the same with your XI ones? That is just the way I am reading it probably, but make sure your class rank is the most up to date and cumulative. Or, if you do not want to deal with it leave it blank and your HS will do it for you.</p>
<p>Yes cardoza, my year-wise ranks are only on the basis of grades achieved in that particular year. This has been the system for all my school years.</p>
<p>I can make sure my class rank is up to date, but I can’t give a cumulative rank because those things simply don’t exist. I’d have to ask the school to aggregate the value for every student, something they wouldn’t do.</p>
<p>I can however ask them to submit the rank on the most recent exam on my behalf, something I think they would do if it happens to be the Half Yearly - and I could write this same rank. It wouldn’t be cumulative, but it’s the only rank I can give.</p>
<p>As for why I wish to clear this up about class ranks : I’m planning to applying next year to elite state colleges + Ivies : Penn, Mich, Cornell, MIT etc. and have got decent stats (I think XD, I mean MIT would be quite a reach but the rest I think are doable) so far. Just need to clear the issue of school record up , because I’m not sure how, for example, being valedictorian vs salutatorian makes a difference - hence, I’ll just optimize the damn thing best I can :P</p>
<p>^ Just to be clear, you do know that MIT & Mich are not Ivies?? :D</p>
<p>You should be good. Don’t worry too much about your school transcripts right now - focus on writing good essays and on keeping up your academics. Also inform your teachers & counselor well in advance of your plans - so that they can have the recommendations, transcripts ready!! :)</p>
<p>All the best.</p>
<p>He’s having my syndrome Rishav…Haha …lol:D</p>
<p>Effectively Ivies. Hell MIT beats any ivy for Indians.</p>
<p>So wait, are ranks actually supposed to be cumulative ? I never heard of anything like that and I doubt any school board in India awards those at all. Do you guys all leave it blank then ?</p>
<p>@quiver - Haha!! Yes!! :D</p>
<p>@occams - Btw… What a weird username ! LOL!! 
We just put our recent ranks. Don’t worry!!
In USA & in International schools in India & other countries - ranks are not only based on a single exam but on classroom discussion/tests/etc throughout th years(s). But most colleges know the Indian system - so there ain’t any issue in filling in your current rank.</p>
<p>It’s better for the school (and thus most students) to show a consistent pattern of ranking over the years. If they do not rank, they do not rank (sorry for the tautology). If for one year, the school counselor decided to put ranks, and the next year, the school doesn’t, it can be confusing at best, and unreliable at worst.</p>
<p>I’m from the OP’s school and there’s one thing that I would like to point out. WE DON’T EVEN HAVE A COUNSELOR! That’s a problem, isn’t it? :P</p>
<p>@antialias - I think the OP’s school ranks them every year(as he said). But doesn’t show it on the transcript. But I agree - if there’s too much doubt with the ranking, then kust leave it blank!! :)</p>
<p>@confusehexagon - If your school doesn’t have a counselor, then you need to get your Principal/Headmaster to do it for you. Alternatively - you could ask your Principal/Headmaster to designate a teacher/office staff to complete the counselor forms on their behalf!! :)</p>
<p>Hehe… So we’ll have to talk to the principal after all…
Is top decile in a pretty good school decent enough for the top Unis? I’ve got a 2240 on the Jan SAT: M800 W720(8) CR720. CR won’t improve much but a perfect essay can boost up my score to over 2300 the next time I take it. I have some EC’s but nothing TOO impressive. Inter school quizzes, open quizzes, all kinds of science and math competitions, but my strongest EC is my math olympiad performance: regional awardee in 9th, national awardee in 10th, best solution award at the International Math Olympiad Training Camp in 10th, two more shots at making the Indian IMO team (but that’s HIGHLY unlikely given how competetive the IMOTC is). I cleared the NTSE in 8-9 with a final state rank of 3 (dunno my national rank) and I’ll probably clear the KVPY as well (interview didn’t go perfectly, though, so you never know). I’ll be treating ISI Kolkata, ISI Bangalore and CMI as my safeties (maybe even IISc Bangalore), so I’ll just be applying to matches and reaches in the States (mostly reaches lol). Any good math school you’d advise me to consider?
And what chances do I really have at those places given my stat, weighing in the fact that I’ll be applying for full FA?</p>
<p>Northwestern has a great math program! 
Not to sure about others. You can’t go wrong with the Ivies.</p>
<p>Full FA without any outstanding ECs is going to be tough as most schools are need aware!! But even I’m in a similar(worse?) situation!! Haha!!</p>
<p>I’d say you should look up a few LAC’s - Amherst, Williams, Pomona, HarveyMudd, etc </p>
<p>Your SAT score of 2240 is good. Unless you’re sure that you’ll improve, I’d advise against a retake - as chances are that it will drop.</p>
<p>All the best!</p>
<p>Yeah, it’s more or less get-into-the-IMO-team-or-forget-about-the-Ivies for me.
I’m considering the LAC’s but I’m a bit confused. Should I go to, say, a Pomona, when I’ve already been accepted at a couple of strong math courses in India? There are at least three IMO medalists at Chennai Mathematical Institute’s UG program right now, so… :-/
Getting into a top school would make this so much easier. 
Are you applying in Fall '14 too?</p>
<p>@Confusedhexagon - Great Stats! :)</p>
<p>@jmlover: I dunno, I’m not too happy. School records aren’t that good, I’ve never had the motivation to excel there. I wish I could do better, but the exams are just too boring. 
I’m not too confident about my essays, maybe I’ll write horribly. The essays are so important and I’m scared that I’ll mess them up. I’m paranoid already, several months before the application process even starts! Lol, I dunno how I’ll survive another year.
And nothing’s good enough if you need full FA. At least I have some colleges in India where I’ll be happy, that cushion helps reduce the paranoia (very slightly :D). And I’d like to ask you too, Fall '14?</p>