<p>This goes for all colleges but I am specifically interested if anyone knows how much the admissions board takes into account of what highschool you go to. If you go to one of the top 5 athletic schools in the nation and play one varsity sport, do they think it is better then going to a normal highschool and playing 2 or 3. Also with academics, do they consider a 3.5 at a academically tough school just as good as a 4.0 or 4.1 at another school</p>
<p>I go to a high school that's ranked 17th in the nation academically by Newsweek.</p>
<p>How do I let the academy know that?</p>
<p>They will be a lot more interested in how your school stacks up academically and even more importantly where you fit into the class ranking. When you get on this board, "everyone's" high school is "uber-competitive". In the end it won't be the school you came from that got you in, its what YOU did there.</p>
<p>Last year Sports Illustrated evaluated 38,000 public and private high school sports programs across the United States and published its rankings. SI ranked my mids public high school #1 and included an eleven-page article describing the schools sports and academic programs, along with a two-page photo spread of the varsity team captainsincluding my plebe-to-be. The school has been a sports/academic powerhouse for decades, but few students end up at SAs. Typically the football players head to USC, and the smart kids attend the UCs, Stanford, and Ivy League schools. However, one of the cadets in Absolutely American was from this school, and two male graduates followed my daughter and are currently members of USNA c/o 2010. None of them were recruited athletes, so I think the schools academic rigor and the individual candidates' qualifications were more important than the fact that their school has the top sports program in the nation.</p>
<p>I agree with Shogun. Your achievements are more important that the school's reputation. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Yup, they aren't recruiting your high school, they are recruiting you. I don't believe any "quality points" are awarded to candidates based on the school they went to when calculating their Candidate Scores.</p>
<p>PenQuinz, </p>
<p>The Newsweek ranking is actually not very representative of the quality of academics at any high school. </p>
<p>From the Newsweek Website: </p>
<p>"Public schools are ranked according to a ratio devised by Jay Mathews: the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in 200_ divided by the number of graduating seniors."</p>
<p>Thus, right off the bat, the ranking does not include private schools. Also notice it only takes into account tests TAKEN and not tests PASSED. Thus, you can have a school that administers the tests and has everyone get a score of "1" and still rank high. Further, schools that offer both IB and AP programs rank much higher than schools that only offer AP. Economic factors are also excluded from this ranking (such as my school requires the students to pay themselves for all AP or IB testing, while other school districts cover the cost of these exams) Also, notice that the total is divided by graduating seniors, even though these tests can be taken by anyone at the school. </p>
<p>Then of course, the question is raised that why is AP or IB testing the ONLY indicator of a good school? </p>
<p>So, there are a lot of fallacies to using the Newsweek Ranking as an indicator of the best schools in America. </p>
<p>That said, I agree with the others in that it is more important how YOU compare to everyone else in your class. Stand out and it will show on the application :) </p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
<p>The Admissions Board does not look at a candidate's GPA. They look at your class rank and also at your course schedule. Candidates are expected to take the most rigorous courses offered by their school. If you school offers Honors, AP, and/or IB courses, you had better be taking those classes. The academy would rather see a candidate earn a B in an Honors English class than an A in a "bone head" English class. Candidates need to be challenging themselves academically because you will definitely be challenged at the academy.</p>
<p>Also, your school should be sending in a profile sheet with your application, describing the average SAT range and GPA distribution for students at your school. This will give USNA and other schools the best idea of what kind of high school you come from and where you fall within that group. (I know what you're saying about competitive high schools; mine was extremely competitive, and so my class rank was nowhere near the top, but I still got a September LOA. My GPA wasn't a 4.0 either. Just do your best and don't worry about it; it will all work out in the end. The Admissions Board is a group of professionals; they know when a candidate's school is very competitive. Good luck!)</p>
<p>"The Admissions Board does not look at a candidate's GPA. They look at your class rank and also at your course schedule. Candidates are expected to take the most rigorous courses offered by their school."</p>
<p>They do look at the GPA in context with the School's profile and course load, as that is the only way they can "somewhat" determine class rank when the high school does not rank. Coming from a high school that does not rank, Admissions indicated to not worry as that was one of many items used in the whole person evaluation and in cases where the high school does not rank they either try to estimate a rank, or place greater value to other items. They indicated that the strength of the course load and GPA in that course work would more than make up for a missing of class rank. </p>
<p>The bottom line is to do the best you can, in the courses that are the right level for your abilities.</p>
<p>i read on the USNA addmissions website that they take into account how many people from your school go on to two or four year colleges</p>
<p>"Do you take the strength of my high school into consideration? If so, how? </p>
<p>Yes. We look at how many graduates of your high school go on to four-year and two-year colleges and universities."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/faq.htm#hs%5B/url%5D">http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/faq.htm#hs</a></p>
<p>The last 4 posts have been right on.</p>
<p>In the case where schools rank, the ranking trumps a GPA.</p>
<p>As GA mentioned, course load and rigor is taken into VERY STRONG account (and I have heard it uttered from CGO).</p>
<p>The Academy uses the 2/4 year university-school figure.</p>
<p>USNA also doesn't care if your school is the best or worst athletic school in the nation. Athletics are important, but academics are more important. They mostly care that a) you play a sport b) that you might have had a leadership position on the team. Recruiting, obviously, falls in a different category.</p>
<p>My schools got 2nd in the nation for the si thing, without women's sports or decent facilities, we have to drive or ride the bus to our fields, play our football games at another highschool, and our wrestling team practices in an old car garage</p>