Can someone explain to me why class ranks are important? I have a 3.97 GPA and yet I’m ranked 106/733 in my class. At a different school, a 3.97 GPA would probably be within the top 4%. So why do colleges factor in class ranks? Someone who goes to a school with a lot of slackers can easily obtain a very good class rank while someone like me who goes to a school where everyone strives to get good grades don’t rank as high.
This sucks because there’s no way I can be ELC for UC schools.
<p>Class rank is important because all schools are different, and it is a way to measure you to the rest of your peers. If there are 70 4.0's coming out of your school, it is obviously much easier than a private school with the #1 ranked student with only a 3.8. But being 106 with a 3.97...? What year are you? I'm pretty sure if you keep it up, by the time you apply, your rank will jump up as people will stop dropping when they take harder classes later. Unless your school is just really really easy.</p>
<p>Because remember, colleges do not know how hard your high school was, and a good way to see this is to see your class rank. A 3.8 at my public school is very different from a 3.8 from some competitive private school where nobody has a 4.0 past freshman year.</p>
<p>"But being 106 with a 3.97...? What year are you? "</p>
<p>I'm a junior</p>
<p>in my opinion.....
think of it this way: top schools want the most competitive students in the nation. if they see that you can't even compete with the people at your school, then they probably won't expect you to compete with the best students in the nation.
maybe that made sense, maybe that didn't. basically my point is that first you have to be the best at your school, then the best in the country.
if you don't agree, oh well, it was worth a shot =P</p>
<p>Class rank is the only way a school can tell how much grade inflation your school has. A 4.0 is top 1% at some schools and top 20% at others. It levels the playing field.</p>
<p>yea..same here spoofy.
I have 4.17 and i'm ranked 33/625, which is about the top 5%.
I was eligible for ELC when I was junior but I couldn't get it.
isn't that sucks :(</p>
<p>spoofy,</p>
<p>if you go to a very competitive high school, there is also another option for ELC. i believe it is top 4% in each high school, but also for those who are top 12.5% in the state overall also get ELC, although i dont know how they determine that. but basically, the non-top 4% students at highly competitive schools may probably even be better than the top 4% at inner city schools, so i think the UC's recognize that and should reward you with ELC.</p>
<p>Simply, the purpose of ELC is to also give opportunities to those who go to crummy schools. Of course people in the top half of a good schools class are probably better prepared that the top 4% of those who went to lesser schools. It just isn't the point.</p>
<p>sorry, but what does ELC stand for?</p>
<p>Eligibility in the Local Context</p>
<p>pfft u guys are complaining about ur grades and rank
my weighted for UCs is a 4.43 right now and I am ranked 82/802!!!
also, grade inflation does not occur at my school
my rank is so bad because we only go by UW grades and there are about 40 people so far that still have straight A's</p>
<p>its called grade inflation</p>
<p>In reality class rank does mean that much, so don't **** yourself if you aren't ranked well. Class rank does not tell how well you will do in college or if you will suceed in life. The high school I went nearly everyone cheated on EVERY assignment, and when I say EVERY, I mean every. People in the top 20 would cheat on homework, tests, papers, etc. They would have people from the early years give them their old homework, tests, quizes. Anyway, I'm getting off subject. Class rank is just used for the college to determine what type of high school you are coming from, although there are many variables in what class rank really means. As long as you have confidence in your ability, then class rank should not phase you.</p>