Self-reporting class rank on common app

Make sure you follow the rules of the specific schools.

Some take zero recs. Some two. Some allow more but often want a non teacher.

If your academic performance is there, don’t worry about the counselor. Hope they brag about you but you can’t control what anyone writes.

And don’t tell untruths.

I saw an internal list is not - I am ranked #1. You think you are. You don’t truly know.

They do not rank. It’s not acceptable for you to share otherwise.

If they asked the school to verify, you’ll be seen as lying when they say it’s not true. And then you’d likely be out.

They will know your performance by your actual performance. By the school profile.

That’s all they need.

Your school counselor will be providing a class profile that usually lists the ranges of GPAs in the senior class. If yours is the top GPA, it won’t take much to figure out you are one of the very top students.

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I actually truly do know, though. There is a class rank list that I saw as recently as this week.

That’s super helpful, thanks! I didn’t know about the range of GPAs.

Perhaps you can get a copy of your class profile the GC sends…to see if the GPA range is included.

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You know what you saw but officially you don’t.

What happens when they see the school profile and it shows they don’t rank.

When I see resumes embellishing or lying they go in the reject pile.

Your performance will stand on its own.

So many schools today don’t rank - trust the college - they have this.

Are you an adcom?

I agree that blatant lying should not be done, but this student can say their current GPA. If it is sufficiently high, then it will show strong academic performance regardless of the actual ranking…and that is what matters.

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Are you reading apps?

I read apps all day. Many high schools try to obfuscate relative rank for students. As a reader, I appreciate when students share their rank.

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No one said they cannot state their GPA.

You’ve twisted what I said.

I said - if the school doesn’t rank, you don’t have a rank.

No - I’m not an adcom. But I hire people - and if I found someone providing information that cannot be corroborated because it doesn’t exist - then yes I would hold it against the person.

Please read the words written before attacking.

You may appreciate it and maybe I’m not right - but I’m simply saying I would not purport something that I cannot validate - and that cannot be validated - except if the school choose to do so.

Why take a risk when it will add little - because the academic performance will speak for itself.

This information is not shared with the student body. The student so it - sounds like accidentally and not in authorized fashion.

I have my opinion - you have yours.

I say there’s risk when there needn’t be risk because they student will stand tall on GPA and rigor vs. the profile of the school.

The student is creating a possible risk that doesn’t exist without their action.

What is your opinion based on? That’s the issue. Have you ever had someone who reads apps tell you this would be a risk, or are you just guessing?

My opinion is an informed one because I actually work as an admissions reader. And over the course of the last six years or so in various jobs where I interacted with many admissions peeps, I have never heard any of them say a student reporting rank when the school doesn’t would be an issue.

Most schools don’t report rank. Most students know their rank or decile. Seems simple.

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As noted my opinion.
I wouldn’t bring risk into something where it’s needed.

And I would not take a students word on something that is school provided.

As I noted.

Op or you and others can disagree. That’s my opinion as stated.

Reminder that CC isn’t a debate society. Please move on from the back and forth as both positions have been clearly stated.

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Can I ask both you and @tsbna44 for opinions on a sort of reverse scenario? Suppose that, as is typical, the Profile says “High School does not rank students” and then provides the quartile distributions. Counselor tells students to report that the school ranks and provide the quartile. Student does not want to report the quartile in the Common App. Is the student wrong to not report, even though colleges will have the quartile info? Perhaps this will seem like splitting hairs.

It’s a good question. I wonder how many counselors give direction to students to report their rank in CA? (my guess is not many)

Personally, I would not hold it against a student who didn’t report rank in this scenario, sometimes I probably wouldn’t even notice. Generally I think there’s a disposition towards looking for reasons to admit, not looking for little peccadilloes to not admit (which is what I would call this example…it’s not a game of gotcha).

Separately, and back to OP’s initial question, there are schools where being a potential val does give a noted plus in the admission process, and also importantly, at some schools there are special merit scholarships for vals/sals.

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I agree with the majority here, do not report an unofficial rank if your HS doesn’t rank.

The downside of stating something that isn’t true (even if you have the highest GPA you aren’t #1 because no such rank exists) outweighs the minor possible upside. If you are the highest GPA, your GPA is probably quite high and speaks for itself and the colleges will see you are the highest GPA who has applied from your school. And if you want to emphasize it, there’s probably other ways. Ask one of your other LoC’s who you trust more than the counselor to bring it up. Use the section many apps have to add additional info to mention it. Or find a humble brag way to insert it into your own prompts. Not saying you need to do any of these things, only saying if you really feel compelled to include that info, there’s ways short of filling in a specific data field that will not be supported by your school’s data and offers no opportunity for clarification.

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As I suggested upstream, get a copy of your class profile…which the school counselor sends. See if the range of GPAs is on that for your class. If it is, and you state your GPA, it will be very clear where you stand relative to the rest of your class.

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Again, I’m not an adcom - but I don’t think that would matter.

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Thank you. I wonder whether colleges report this student among high school student ranks in their CDS, with the difference in Profile language (“we don’t rank students”) vs “here are the quartiles” (super common) vs the more unusual situation where both of those are true and the counselor indicates in their form that the school ranks by quartile.

Not sure on the CDS reporting…I don’t know how they could include anything beyond what’s on the transcript. Maybe some IR depts that have extra could take a transcript GPA (where no rank is reportd) and match it up with the school profile…but I think that’s a stretch. I don’t think most IR depts have that kind of time, and CDS only asks about top 10%, so IR depts wouldn’t even have that info in the quartile scenario.

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