I am ranked the first (when I asked my counselor about my rank, he checked it up and told me that my school reports exact rank and I am the first), but my counselor reported the rank in SSR as quartile. If it is indicated as exact in the common app, will that make any trouble? Additionally, aince my school is not at all competetive, will being in top 25% differ than being the first for Harvard?
What should I do?
According to the Common Data Set (C7 data point), Harvard does NOT consider rank, so there’s nothing for you to do: http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2014-15.pdf
Thank you
And, should I self-report in the common app that I am in the top 25% or the first?
^^ You should self-report **EXACTLY **what appears on your transcript, otherwise you might seem to be lying, exaggerating or stretching the truth – none of which would bode well for your application.
(Keep in mind that several years back, Harvard was burned when they admitted a student who ended up falsifying his transcript and letters of recommendations – so Admissions no longer accepts students at their word and wants DIRECT corroboration from school officials. No matter what you self-report, Admissions will use whatever is on your transcript. If you self-report something different – even though it may be true – Admissions will assume you are trying to game the system by claiming something you are not. So don’t do it. Google “Adam Wheeler Harvard.”)
Double check with your GC if it is all right to do so and then report 1st. Other schools you apply to will see the CA ranking and for most it matters. Harvard may say they do not consider rank but AO’s are only human and if they are going to go bat for you it would be good to know that you are at the top of the class. Also, I suspect that since they are the target of racial discrimination lawsuits, they feel that it best to arm their opponents with the least amount of ammunition possible. It is harder to say abc was top of their class and not admitted, while xyz of a different race was much lower ranked and admitted if Harvard says it doesn’t consider rank.
Incorrect! Other schools will use whatever is reported on your transcript, as they are well aware of what happened at Harvard and don’t want the same thing to happen at their college.
Hmmm…
I think I should stick with the safer side and report it as quartile. I may ask my counselor to include in his recommendation that “He was always ranked the first among his classmates”. I think that would do most of the job.
Thank you both!
I don’t remember now. Is there a place to indicate your place in the class, either rank or percentile? I think you should go ahead and put first. If the colleges are concerned about falsification, they can check, but I think that concern is overstated. If you are first, put it down. For some colleges, that actually makes a difference with merit aid, even though we all know it is relatively meaningless.
Have your counselor put this in his recommendation as well. You are perfectly safe. Safe from what? It’s fine.
Safe from what?..Well that’s a good question.
Consider a school that does not give students their exact marks (i.e. 100%) but rather their range (i.e. A+). If someone who got A+ reports that he got a 100%, schools would consider that he is exaggerating and would thus decrease the credibility of his undocumented info (ex: EC’s).
Now, back to our case, what the counselor reported is that the school does not have exact ranking at all. Therefore, if I indicate that I am the first, they would say “Just because he thinks himself the first he reported that he is the first”, and that is what I fear.
A rational fear. If the GC is not going to back your claim being #1, don’t say you’re #1. Refer to @gibby 's advice above:
Sorry if I am getting heavy…
If the counselor would indicate in his recommendation a sentence like “He has been always the first among his classmates”, would this make it OK to say that I am #1??
Admissions often reads ALL applications from a specific high school at the SAME TIME, which allows AO’s to directly compare your course rigor to that of your peers from your high school who are also applying in the SCEA or RD cycle. (It’s not all about GPA!) See: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/keys-to-the-kingdom
While you might be internally rank #1 at your high school, and receive a #1 rating in academics from Admissions, several top students from your high school might also receive #1 ratings as well. Even if your GC agreed to make that kind of note in their recommendation, it’s unlikely to affect how Harvard rates you and the tippy-top students from your high school. Keep in mind that while Admissions accepts many valedictorians, they also reject many as well.
I tend to agree with gibby that all this CC focus on rank misses the larger point, the “whole” picture they look for. At the same time, if whoever writes your counselor letter (not a GC, right?,) wants to state you’re actually #1 or whatever- and it’s true and they would attest to that, if contacted- it’s fine. Many times, at a school that doesn’t rank or has some unusual policy, a letter will include this extra info. (“We officially report Johnny as top X percent, but his record shows…”)
Just don’t get too wrapped up in the minutiae.
I am the only one applying from my high school, and my school does not offer course selection.
I think I would ask my counselor (not a GC, correct) to include such a statement, and self-report the rank as top 25%.
Thank you all very much.
I was assuming you actually are #1 and the GC would back this up and also mention it. This is only important for schools that give scholarships for #1 and #2, that kind of thing, really. But I don’t see how it is misrepresenting if it is true. Is it true that there are several #1’s? If so, don’t mention it of course.
I am actually the first (according to my counselor) and he is willing to corroborate on this. However, due to some reasons, he submitted in the school report that the school reports quartile ranking.
There may also be several #1’s; I have no idea. Would it matter anyway?
Ask the counselor if you are the only one ranked #1.
If so, ask if that can be noted on your transcript. If not, then
ask Harvard if you can put that in the Common App even if school reports quartile.
Or don’t worry about it. Up to you.
So, I had called Harvard Admission Office, and when I told them that my counselor will mention in his recommendation letter that I am the first, they told me that it is perfectly Ok to report the rank as the first, which I did. I already submitted the app, but fears are haunting me that they would consider me lying or exaggerating as Gibby said, so do any of you believe that I should take further action (Let my counselor explicitly state in his recommendation letter that I am actually ranked the first and that reporting the rank as quartile was due to some school policies, for instance. Or maybe upload a small note through the application status portal signed by my counselor stating that I am the first) as to avoid any possible red flags?
Please reply as soon as possible because such an issue is really troubling me.
What I said
If your GC listed you as 1st for Class Rank on page 2 of the Secondary School Report (SSR), or wrote that you are first in their LoR that was attached to the SSR, then you have nothing to fear by stating that you are indeed first – and there’s no need for an additional note. See: top section of page 2 – that’s where your GC should have noted it. http://www.du.edu/apply/media/documents/2012CASSR.pdf
There’s only so far you can go with nerves. I’m telling you, this situation is not uncommon. It will neither make nor break your chances.
You’re done, no email, unless you have major news, such as a relevant new accomplishment. Eg, winning an important award.
The more you fuss, the more you can make others wonder. You told us this is true. Your counselor will write it.