<p>So I'm your stereotypical Asian female from a Bay Area public high school. SATs 2260, SAT II's 800, 760, 750, weak ECs, UW 3.98, W 4.21 (9-11), 4.32 (10-11), only B coming in first semester AP US History. Now here's the thing - even for my high GPA, my class rank is low. I'm not even in top 10% - I'm around 49 out of 439. I'm applying to some of the Ivy Leagues (probably Columbia, Cornell and possibly UPenn) and I was wondering whether this low class rank will have a highly detrimental impact on my chances when compared with everything else, since apparently the Ivies don't use GPA but instead use class rank. Thank you if you respond.</p>
<p>my son had similar numbers. Lots of APs. And with really good ECs. His school didn't rank but he was somwhere in the top 10% - probably somewhere between 30 and 40 out of 470. Not good enough. Rejected at Cornell (the "easy" Ivy) and waitlisted at UVA. I think his essays were good (not great) and recommendations were very good. There's lots of kids with your profile applying. It's very tough out there. But give it a try - just make sure you have some matches and safeties that you like. And spend lots of time on those essays!!</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. Anyone else?</p>
<p>I think that's the truth: not in top 10%, colleges start to assume</p>
<p>whether they say it or not</p>
<p>Not being in the top 10% is, unfortunately, bad news, as colleges like to highlight their percentages of students who were in the top 10% of their high school class.</p>
<p>But how are you in the 40's with one B and 3.98 UW??</p>
<p>How did you do on your AP exams?</p>
<p>When adcoms look at your rank, they might assume your school has major inflation. You'll need good AP scores to back you up (like 4's or 5's). Then adcoms will know you really worked hard, and that your school is just competitive.</p>
<p>"But how are you in the 40's with one B and 3.98 UW??"</p>
<p>I was wondering that as well...</p>
<p>wow ur school is gay, prob cause too many asians</p>
<p>"But how are you in the 40's with one B and 3.98 UW??" One point is that we don't have pluses or minuses on our grades, so quite a few A's out there are actually A-'s. That in itself is probably grade inflation.</p>
<p>Our class of 2006 had 30 valedictorians, but neither 04 nor 05 reflected this trend. </p>
<p>I took AP US History and AP Chem this year. I don't have any previous AP scores - we don't have specially designated ones for freshmen or sophomores like AP Human Geography or the likes.</p>
<p>We do GPA by percentages, and 4 decimal points so that there is only one valedictorian...</p>
<p>i.e 96.4565</p>
<p>Under 10%, Asian, Bay Area----ivies very unlikely.</p>
<p>Lol. I'm aiming for upenn too. Hate to break it to ya, but LHS is *<strong><em>ing *</em></strong>. Teachers give out As like cake, especially in Marx's apush class. I have 4.42 weighted, but I dun think I am in top 10% either.</p>
<p>that's kind of the same with my school. Too many people driving up the class rank. I heard that most universities will take into consideration the high school you came from. But that's just what I heard.</p>
<p>Your SAT scores should help you out here. A lot of admissions officers say that a reason for their continued importance is to watch grade inflation.</p>
<p>The school doens't have many aps though or honors and most classes are somewhat hard. most people managed As thoguh since they generally get some help from tutors and stuff. A lot of people at this school, the OP included, live in million dollar houses.</p>
<p>what school do you go to?</p>