<p>On this website, “I go to a rigorous high school” very often actually means “I don’t have a great gpa but I want to go to Harvard, so I’ll blame it on my ‘rigorous school’.”</p>
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<p>That’s a rather cynical outlook, newest newb, but I do have to admit that it is true in some cases. 
On the other hand, if you read my post in this thread (#18), you wouldn’t really be able to argue that that’s not “competitive”. </p>
<p>In regards to the question I included at the end of said post, does anyone have an answer?</p>
<p>I see kids on here who rank like #1 out of 600, get a 3.95, and have 25 ACTs. It boggles my mind how Georgia Tech can’t pay more attention to your school record.</p>
<p>our high school sends alot of kids to uc’s like san diego, irvine, la, riverside, and Berkeley so that is good sign.</p>
<p>@ SLightManifesto: Yeah, in those cases the words “grade inflation” instantly come to mind, which is why I think SAT scores actually play a more significant role in college admissions than what people say. On the other hand, a prospective Ivy applicant can’t exactly have a poor GPA either. </p>
<p>But if I were an adcom, I’d be more willing to admit a person who has outstanding EC’s, a 2300 SAT, and a 3.7 GPA, over a person who has run-of-the-mill EC’s, a 1700 SAT, and a 4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>wow, my high school probably has somewhere around a 8-10% dropout rate</p>
<p>and most of the kids who graduate will go to community college, Mcdonalds, or podunk town college</p>
<p>I really hope my high school doesn’t blow my chances at getting into a good college!</p>
<p>I go to a public school, and it was listed as “top 2% in the nation” last year out of public school test scores, with like the 3rd lowest dropout rate in our state (michigan). There’s thousands of public schools, so does these statistics have any effect?</p>
<p>My school is very rigorous. I attend an independent private school with 100% of the students heading to college. Out of that, only about 1-2% go to community college. For each class, we also generally have on average 2-3 kids heading to Ivy League, out of about 70. As a result, my school is very competitive, among the students as well as the parents. </p>
<p>For example, I was talking to a friend who lives in another city and attends a public high school. This kid is lazy, he skips school a lot and smokes a lot of pot (not saying you cant do good even if you smoke pot, just something to consider). He told me he has all A’s and B’s. While I on the other hand, work my butt off and never skip school…and I have a B+ average. </p>
<p>Yes, my high school is rigorous.</p>
<p>Charlie, my high school sounds just like yours. Looking at my academic performance, my 3.5 UW first semester is actually pretty good in the context of my HS. Add that to the fact that I’m taking 4 AP classes, a foreign language class that goes beyond AP level, and an honors class, and it looks amazing. </p>
<p>I still wonder how we do the calculations to figure out who gets into the Cum Laude Society, though… from the looks of last year’s inductees, it doesn’t seem as though they go by unweighted GPA’s (thank goodness!).</p>
<p>I go to the top school in my state. We have about ~5 people each year get into HYPS and many other top schools.</p>
<p>My school is rigorous.
Our SAT average score is only like a 1760, but it’s definitely one of the best in NY outside of NYC.
Full IB Diploma program, mandated AP classes, and like 20% to top schools. 98% attend college or university.</p>
<p>“IB” is enough to earn you the right to call your school rigorous. How rigorous? That depends.</p>
<p>Well in SA, every single Senior writes the exactly same examination paper at the end of senior year. So the school does not really say much about your academics. But at my school, getting from one class to another without getting beaten or stabbed shows that you are a pretty strong character. :D</p>
<p>Fledgling, it does sound like you go to a very rigorous school and if 20% are National Merit Finalists, that says a lot! I do think that private selective colleges will go a lot deeper into the pool at a school like yours. (State universities may be more formulaic, but SAT scores will be a major part of that formula.) Try to distinguish yourself by doing some things that are really interesting, show some leadership (if you can’t do it at school, do it in the community), get some outstanding recommendations (if you do something interesting outside of school, consider getting a recommendation from an adult in that setting, in addition to your teacher recommendations.), maintain your intellectual curiosity, write interesting essays (“show, don’t tell”) and fine colleges will recognize what you have to offer. Remember that the college admissions folks are trying to add interest to their classes.</p>
<p><but at=“” my=“” school,=“” getting=“” from=“” one=“” class=“” to=“” another=“” without=“” beaten=“” or=“” stabbed=“” shows=“” that=“” you=“” are=“” a=“” pretty=“” strong=“” character.=“”> So if people wanna see violence they should come to your campus on a weekday and sit somewhere with Cocacola? Yo, give me the address.</but></p>
<p>mine’s rigorous- usnews top 100,sends nearly 100% of grads to four year colleges, magnet school… and surprisingly, not at all cutthroat.</p>
<p>@ levirm: Yeah, it would be a complete lie to claim that my HS was not competitive, lol. I certainly hope my application gets at least a second look despite the fact that I might not be ranked in the top 10%…</p>