Hi all, I am going to be a senior next year and I was wondering if my class rank realistically precludes me from high end schools and what my chances are if it does not. A little bit about me
My current rank is 11/96 or ~11th top percentile. Unfortunately just outside top ten percent, I may be able to move up to 10th. School is not abnormally competitive
GPA 94.4 UW ~96 W (Strong upward trend) approx 3.85 on 4.0
ACT 33 (36 E 33 M 33 R 29 S) retaking with aspirations of 34+
SAT II 710 Bio E, 770 Math I, 780 Chem. Will take math II hoping for 780+
AP Scores: 5 on world History, waiting on USH expecting 4
Senior schedule: AP Calc AB, AP Euro, AP English, Physics, Spanish V, Econ/Gov
Pretty much most rigorous course load available but very few APs/preAPs available
(Took both Algebra II and PreCalc this year and achieved highest average in both if that means anything)
Awards: not much, most effort in baseball, NHS, Highest average in all my math classes, some small school awards etc.
ECs (kinda light I know)
4 yr Varsity Baseball (not good enough for recruitment)
2 Yr varsity XC (same)
Section Leader in school band
VP of class
Counselor at a camp, third year this summer
Summer Job at a restaurant last year
Interning at an insurance company this summer
Theatre Tech crew 2 years
NHS
some mixed in volunteer work ~75 hours
Not sure if this counts but I’ve also put in countless hours collecting autographs from baseball players through the mail and have built up a pretty good collection including HOFers like Stan Musial, Wade Boggs, and Whitey Ford and more recent stars like Roger Clemens, Clayton Kershaw etc. Should I include this on app?
Hooks: first Gen
White as sour cream
Income around 90000
I have ran NPCs and have a good idea of what I can pay
Will apply for FA
Very small school so Recs should be good. One from math teacher who I’ve had every year and am relatively close with and another from my English teacher from last two years who really likes me
Current College List
Williams College ED (any reasonable chance?)
Tufts ED II should that fail
BC
Colgate
Vassar
Hamilton
Brandeis
BU
Northeastern
Syracuse
URoch
SUNY Binghampton
Temple (guaranteed presidential?)
Plus a couple absolute safeties
If you would not mind would you please give me your opinions on the impact of my rank and my chances in general and what I can do at this point to improve them. Thanks for reading
Your rank shouldn’t have a such a big impact, as long as the rest looks good
Thanks! Bump for additional opinions
There is nothing magic about being just inside (or outside) the 10% line.
@JustOneDad I was hoping that was the case, but the percentages in the top 10% scared me, thanks! Do you guys think this list is reasonable and do I have a realistic shot at the higher end schools on this list
Depending on the school, the “top 10%” could just as well be “top 5%”, or even “top 1%”. Methinks you are competitive for the schools on your list, but that does not sidestep the need to identify and apply to “matches” and “safeties”.
I think you could spin the autograph collection and baseball interest into a good essay, start working on a few concepts using common app prompts.
@PickOne1 I really like that idea, I’m definitely gonna try that thanks! Thanks for the help everyone
Not every topic or every prompt makes a good essay and they all take several rewrites.
So use this one and then write a few on other topics. Try out different prompts.
With your large list of schools, you may have several supplements too, so consider that for both common app and these supplements at your first choice schools.
One good thing about this essay choice is it is very personal, so if you can convey some excitement about it, it may stand out for hundreds of other topics (and if your reader likes baseball too, even better).
Not sure if you know this but your 770 on Math I is s very good score. Take a look at score distribution on college board website. I think your high school’s profile is important. You are very close to top 10 percent. Does your school provide exact class rank or just percentile cutoff for top 10 percent. How high is average SAT/ACT at your school? Where do students typically go to college? With family income at 90k, running NPCs is going to be important as might merit aid. Williams is not a ridiculous stretch for you.
@PickOne1 Thanks so much I appreciate the advice @Wje9164be I believe we report percentages, which would put me at top 15%, but I am not 100% sure. The average test scores are around 1800 sat for the more college bound students and must students go to SUNY’s (I am from upstate NY) with a few that go to more selective privates. Would the 15% hurt more and should I ask my GC to mention my exact rank if possible?
You should also avoid applying to only schools that your higher ranked schoolmates are also applying to. Naviance or your guidance counselor should know if that is the case for all the schools you mention, at least historically. Fine schools in the midwest and south might be interested in you more than just another of the 5 applicants to say BU with 1000s of people from upstate NY applying. If some prior grads of your high school have gone there and done well, maybe even more likely.
I think 9-10-11 in class of 96 is pretty insignificant, but maybe he can just put 11th of 96 rather than 11% or 15% …
Only about 25% of Williams freshman submitted rank. Yet, 95% were in the top 10%. They do print the % in 1st and 2nd decile prominently on their site. You state you may be able to move to top 10%. How? If that is possible, that may be a good thing to do. I usually don’t think these fairly arbitrary things are very important, and even in this case it is probably not very important but if you can get into that top 10% I think it would serve you well. Your objective scores are strong and I suspect your athleticism will help your Williams application even if you aren’t strong enough for varsity. So how can you get into that top 10%?
@lostaccount I might be able to move up a spot because our ranks will be updated after the first quarter of school next year if I perform better than the person directly above me but I would still be just outside the top 10% at 10/96. @PickOne1 Unfortunately we do not use naviance, but from talking to the classmates above me our college lists appear to have very little overlap with the exception of 1 person who is ranked higher but has substantially lower scores. Also my parents are limiting me to about 5 hour driving distance. Thanks everyone
Also I would appreciate it if anyone had idea for colleges where I would potentially get substantial merit in the northeast as it seems automatic scholarships are sparse in the area
Hi there! Like you, I was also ranked in the top 11% percent of my class… That sucks right? I was three spots away from the top ten percent and was convinced I could just kiss my hopes of college goodbye because these “elite” schools like to boast about their top 10 percent applicants… I came to realize, however, that class rank truly doesn’t matter as much as you may think. I was accepted to UCLA, USC, UMich, NYU, and UGA this past spring without being in the “top ten percent”. Colleges know and recognize how tough it was to get there. Just keep your grades and extracurriculars up and you should be okay! Hope this helped!
@nnocnat2 Congratulations! If you don’t mind me asking what were your standardized test scores
What I was trying to get at is that Class Rank is relative to the strength of your high school overall. When an admissions officer is reading your application and looking at your transcript (it’s probably a summary of your transcript that the college has sliced as it sees fit) they will probably also have your high school’s profile in front of them. If your school is particularly strong they will take this into account as they look at your grades, GPA and class rank. In a very competitive high school being Top 15% might be a real achievement, in a less competitive high school still good but not as impressive. Colleges to track and report the % of incoming freshman who rank in the top 10% of their high school class so that’s one cutoff to shoot for if possible. A good rough indicator of how competitive a high school is would be what percentage of students went onto a four year college or average standardized test scores or the percentage of students taking AP or IB classes.
GW gives generous merit aid to stronger students. If you would like I can send you a book I’ve written on selective college admissions that gives you information on what percentage of students are awarded merit aid and how much. It also, i think, does a good job describing key steps in the selective admissions process. I just need your e-mail and I can send you a PDF copy. Being published on Amazon in a couple of months