Hello. I’m not going to go into much detail because I want this to be a general question and I don’t want to turn this into a chance me. I’m in the upper part of my class, and I have higher SAT scores than most people I know at my school. I’m taking a lot of the most challenging courses offered by my school. However, my stats don’t look so great when compared to students from all over. What should I pay more attention to? Rather, what will admissions officers pay more attention to? Me vs my environment, or me vs the world?
As in all things it varies. Your scores will be compared to all students. Your GPA and class rank to students from your school.
The answer is both. If you are #1 at a school that offers little, especially if it’s a very big school, then the fact that you are doing well compared to your own high school will mean a lot. If you can be competitive to students from all over despite being at a school that offers little then that’s a real help.
That said, if you are just somewhat above average at a school that offers little you will have a tough time competing vs the world.
@Troyus does being in the top 10% of my class in a poorer school give me a decent fighting chance?
You haven’t been very specific about what it is you are trying for. Are you concerned because your standardized scores are relatively lower than you first perceived?
@JustOneDad Well, I was trying to be more general about this. But if I’m being specific, I’m a top 10% student in my school and my SAT scores are great if you only compare them to my peers. However, my academic performance isn’t too hot compared to the rest of the world. My high school is considered a poverty high school. My question, which I was trying to keep more general and open ended, is whether my academic performance relative to my peers means anything if I’m a below average student compared to everyone else.
@Hunterwhaley The fact that you have managed to do well at a disadvantaged High School is absolutely a help. Top schools very much like to accept people who can show that they can do very well in difficult circumstances.
That said, I can’t begin to say if top 10% of your class is good enough, although I suspect not.
Are you looking at your states flagship U? They like to pull from all the HS’s, good and bad, that could help you.
It helps if your stats are on the upper end of your high school’s range, but they still have to be competitive for the colleges you’re interested in attending. Having an SAT score of 1800 may put you in the top 10% of your high school, but it won’t help you much at a school whose SAT range is 2150-2400.
I can only say both are crucial.
It’s probably both. Plus as the colleges keep their scorecard on admissions, what boxes do you check:
URM
FirstGen
Pell Grant