<p>At my school there is a lot of grade inflation, and after my sophomore year (even though I had a 3.8 UW gpa) my rank took a nose dive to about 50/270. I pulling off a 4.0 in my junior year and moved up to the 30's and also got a 4.0 first quarter this year, and I took extra classes. The guidance department hand calculated my rank this quarter and I become 1st in my class. My counselor wrote up a letter stating that I was approximately first in my class and she also put on my weighted gpa and everything. I just have a few questions about this.</p>
<p>Will colleges see my old rank and hold it against me?
Is it okay that it stated in a letter opposed to being on my transcripts (they just didn't update it for some reason)?
Is this unprofessional?</p>
<p>Sorry for all the questions. I'm just very suspicious of my guidance department. They tend to never know what they are doing and they always seem unprofessional to me. </p>
<p>I'm also wondering because I just got an acceptance letter from my of my match schools, but I was thinking they'd offer me a dean's scholarship because my SAT score is above their median and I saw a few kids on here with stats similar to mine that got it. I was not awarded the dean's scholarhip and for some reason I was just worried it might have something to do with them seeing my old rank and not paying attention to the letter.... ahhh paranoia is setting in.</p>
<p>No, your colleges won't see your old rank.</p>
<p>are you sure, they are listed on my transcripts?</p>
<p>a year of having a 4.0 made you valedictorian? that's pretty ridic.</p>
<p>well not really considering they didn't weight classes until our junior year and i took every weighted class my school offered, plus extra electives in my senior year. what's ridiculous is that getting one B in algebra II advanced and geometry advanced dropped me to 50.</p>
<p>Getting one B does usually drop you a long ways down but maybe not down 50 (assuming you didn't get any other below A grades)..... At my school it is unweighted and one B one semester in our Calc BC class made my rival 4.0er lose his 4.0 and go down to like 30th place or something (but he also got an A- before or something).</p>
<p>I only got one B each year. Like I said my school has pretty bad grade inflation, so the people taking classes that are actually hard get screwed. </p>
<p>can someone maybe answer my question...</p>
<p>Getting two Bs would definitely drop you a lot. To answer your question, I highly doubt that the colleges will see your old rank but they will definitely see your grades and ask why someone who got two Bs is valedictorian. That might sound harsh but getting two Bs at most schools (even in AP classes) does not = valedictorian.</p>
<p>My guidance office calculated the rank. And by the way thre is no "valedictorian" at my school because many are tied for #1. I had a 3.8 UW gpa in my freshman and sophomore year and nothing was weighted, therefore I dropped down very far. When the classes began to be weighted, and I pulled off a 4.0 every quarter last year and first quarter this year it helped. Like I've already stated, I took extra classes and people ranked ahead of me began to drop because they were no longer getting A's or they simply weren't taking weighted classes. </p>
<p>I have the highest weighted GPA at my school and I believe this is what helped my rank so much. You have to understand the situation in the context of my school. And also it is not as if I asked for them to do this. I asked them to calculate my rank and that is what they did.</p>
<p>And just to address the comment you made, "I highly doubt that the colleges will see your old rank but they will definitely see your grades and ask why someone who got two Bs is valedictorian." </p>
<p>I don't know how it works at other schools, but there are many of us tied for one. Two of us have 3.9 UW gpa's (the other girl took AP calc in her junior year and got a B) and the rest have 4.0's UW but didn't take every weighted class available to them. This is obviously the purpose of weighting classes, so that people who are taking harder classes can get a B and still have the rank they deserve....</p>
<p>At my school, multiple 4.0s means multiple valedictrians. Anyways back on topic. I don't really see why you are stressing so much about this. A 3.8 GPA is still a decent GPA. Not as good as a 4.0 but still it means you are As to A-s average. Plus you said you took a lot of AP/IB courses right? Colleges will see your effort and appreciate it. But if you get all stressed about your GPA and let it slip in your applications or interviews or whatever, colleges will be turned off because they will think "wow why is this chick getting all stressed about her rank/GPA?" As long as your SATs are pretty high and you aren't aiming for Harvard, Yale, or Princeton (where just about everybody gets rejected and I'm applying just for the heck of it), I don't think you should worry. Don't worry... be happy.... BTW what are your SAT scores because I may have to revise my statement if your SAT scores aren't what I think they are ;P</p>
<p>My SAT scores are decent, 2100 overall (low math score). In the context of my school that is outstanding considering we RARELY have anyone break the 1900 mark. I'm not really stressing about my GPA, I'm just worried about them seeing my old rank. I'm very proud that I climbed my way out of that hole and pulled my rank up so much, but the way the ranking works at my school is strange and I just don't want colleges to think it's not legit i guess. I took everything my school had to offer and it shows in my weighted GPA which is a 4.65.</p>
<p>Oh and I'm not aiming for harvard or anything like that. My top choices are Bates, Bryn Mawr, Boston Colleges, Smith, and Villanova.</p>
<p>"I don't know how it works at other schools, but there are many of us tied for one. Two of us have 3.9 UW gpa's (the other girl took AP calc in her junior year and got a B) and the rest have 4.0's UW but didn't take every weighted class available to them. This is obviously the purpose of weighting classes, so that people who are taking harder classes can get a B and still have the rank they deserve...."</p>
<p>If you get a B in any class, it is still a B. You don't "deserve" a higher rank for getting a lower grade in a harder class. If you are taking the harder class and you believe in your own ability to do well, you should be able to get the grade you want; you shouldn't be expecting a lower grade because that would mean that you shouldn't be in that AP class in the first place. That's why Washington state doesn't weight AP classes; some AP classes are ridiculously easy, like AP English Language and Literature, which was an easy 5 on the AP and As both semesters. Why should somebody who takes an AP class that is supposedly harder get extra GPA points if that AP class may not be all that much "harder" than an Honors class?</p>
<p>"Bates, Bryn Mawr, Boston Colleges, Smith, and Villanova."</p>
<p>I've never heard of most of these colleges but I'm sure they are at least top 40 schools in the USA. And even with a 3.8 GPA, your 2100 SAT + the 3.8 GPA + any extracurriculars should = guaranteed spot in all of these colleges.</p>
<p>I'm not going to debate with you about whether or not someone "deserves" a higher rank for getting a lower grade in a harder classes. Regardless of your opinion, that is how the system at my school works. Personally, I think it is fair. I don't think someone taking fundamental alegbra and getting an A deserves to be ranked above me, even though I'm getting a B in the most advanced math class I can take. Also, I never "expected a lower grade." Math is not my strong suite, but I still try very hard and the average grade in my class was somewhere around a C, so I think a B isn't too shabby.</p>
<p>But like I said, I'm not going to have a long winded debate about this. It is a waste of my time. I'd also like to point out, I did not make up the system. I didn't ask to be ranked number 1. I just did the best I could and this is how it worked out. I simply needed a question answered and a few helpful opinions.</p>