<p>I'm a white male from Alabama.
-GPA: 4.00 (Unweighted)
-Class Rank: 9/172</p>
<p>I'm on advanced diploma and have taken the most "difficult" courses offered. List includes:
English AP (Junior)
Calculus Advanced (Senior)
Anatomy/Physiology Advanced (Senior)
Dual Enrollment English 101/102 (Senior)
Physics Advanced (Senior)</p>
<p>ACT Composite: 30</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Eagle Scout
Student Government Association (Committee Member - 2 Years)
Science Club (Member - 4 Years)
Physics Club (Member - 1 Year)
Calculus Club (Member - 1 Year)
National Honor Society (Member - 2 Years)
National Beta Club (Member - 2 Years)</p>
<p>List of Schools:
Cornell
Duke
Vanderbilt
Washington University in St. Louis
Wake Forest</p>
<p>How do you have a 4.00 but have a rank of 9? Whatever. Your GPA really supersedes your ACT score, but at least it’s not the other way around. Added in with your course rigor, your GPA should potentially carry you into many colleges. The ECs are slightly lacking though. Indeed, you have very good ones such as Eagle Scout/NHS/Student government but you only listed a total of 7, 2 of which you only participated in for 1 year. Nonetheless, the GPA/courseload is just the impressive, assuming your school is good.</p>
<p>Cornell: Match for regular, even better with ED
Duke: Slight reach
Vandy: Idk
WashU: Match
Wake: Safety</p>
<p>After a quick consultation with my transcript I was able to verify my unweighted GPA of 4.00 and my class rank of 9/172. I’m not certain how that was determined…</p>
<p>That’s what I was afraid of. I was just hoping for some false hope from some member of this site. I really feel as if I’ve thrown away my entire high school career.</p>
<p>Even if all of the world’s resources were used to create a school that was founded in honor of my current achievements, I would still consider my high school career wasted. I spent entirely too much time being unproductive.</p>
<p>Look, I knew a girl in high school whose entire life was about getting into college. She had a myriad of leadership positions, consistently got about three hours of sleep, and took somewhere in the ballpark of 15 AP classes, and she didn’t get into her top choice. College admissions is a crapshoot. Everyone spends a lot of time being unproductive as a teenager - that’s normal. The point is that your achievements are still very impressive and you haven’t ruined your chances at a top school simply by not being Superman.</p>
<p>And if you’re going to let one person’s post, such as </p>
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<p>Ruin your day, you should know that (and this isn’t directed at needsmoresleep but College Confidential as a whole) the majority of people who chance you are only guessing and are high school students themselves, and they usually don’t understand the processes of each college’s admissions procedures. In the end, it is a crapshoot so don’t feel bad about yourself.</p>
<p>I do realize that being unproductive as a teenager, and even beyond that, is normal. I also am aware that the chances of a post actually being accurate are quite low. I just regret not trying my best.</p>
<p>“How do you have a 4.00 but have a rank of 9? Whatever.”</p>
<p>It is possible.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar position. My UW GPA is a 4.0, whilst my W GPA is a 4.3. My rank is 12/270. My transcript contains all A’s, with only one A-. They’re mostly A’s or A+'s. For vivaelseales to have a 9/172 (which is great, by the way), he must have either earned one B, or he’s in my spot— he doesn’t have 14+ AP/Honors courses. I have 10; I do not have more than 10 (although I’ve tried to schedule an additional Honors course) because my school barred me from advanced math courses throughout junior high (affecting my high school coursework). I simply had not scored well on a state test in the fourth grade, and I was not talented in math. My scores improved considerably (I now take Honors math courses), but nothing could be altered for that freshman year. The students above me in rank do not necessarily have better grades— some have lower grades in courses that I earned higher marks in, but they’ve taken more AP/Honors classes. For our school, that’s what it comes down to: the amount of AP/Honors. I’d venture to say that vivaelseales has faced one of these problems, if he has an UW GPA of 4.0 and a rank of 9/172. I could be wrong, of course. This was just my experience and, now that I’m applying to colleges/universities, I’m afraid of my own chances (because I’m not a valedictorian). </p>
<p>Anyway, in regards to vivaelseales’ post: I am a fellow high school student, so my input is not as informed. I cannot say which schools you’d have likelier admission chances for, though I can boast that I have similar credentials to yourself. If these are your dream schools, apply! My top three choices (George Washington University, Washington and Lee University, and Gettysburg College) may be stretches, but I’m still applying. My only recommendation would be to apply to a safety school, if you have not already (as your top choices are all highly selective). For example, I applied to Ohio Wesleyan University as a potential safety school and I achieved a $90,000 scholarship. As such, I’m in a comfortable position if my other choices fall through for either admissions or merit aid. </p>
<p>Best of wishes, though! I’m feeling the stress, as well!</p>
<p>Well, a lot of us feel that way, it’s also normal. But, as someone who slacked off freshman and sophomore year and therefore had a much lower class rank than I could have had otherwise, it really doesn’t do any good to speculate on what you would change. It’ll just keep you up at night and make you feel badly about yourself. Make up for it by avoiding senioritis this year and being optimistic but realistic about your college choices.</p>
<p>I think you have a shot at each and every one of those schools you listed. Here’s why:
Your ACT is within the 25-75% range for every school you listed except from WUSTL.
You have decent EC’s with some stand out activities that take lots of time and commitment (eagle scout!!)
Your GPA is high, your rank is almost in the top 5%
If you are able to write some damn good essays and get some stellar teacher recs, I think you’ll have a shot at all your schools. Doesn’t mean a large chance, but very few people do for schools like Duke and WUSTL.
Also you should add a few safeties, just to get your list of schools well rounded. Maybe UAB?</p>
<p>If you show enough interest in Vandy and Wake Forest (ie. interview alum or on-campus) you’ll probably be accepted. As for Cornell, Duke, and WUSTL it depends on your major. Cornell for Agriculture Science: YES! Engineering: I wouldn’t count on it, but still competitive. Same goes for Duke. WUSTL is tricky because they’re attracted to a specific type of student. Express tons of interest (speak with the deans, etc.) and you’ll be a competitive candidate at all. Don’t forget to nail those essays, they’re important!</p>
<p>I planned on majoring in biomedical engineering. I hope to pursue a career in medicine and from the research I’ve conducted it seems that biomed as a major is something that medical schools admire.</p>
<p>Also, I’ve changed my prospective college list slightly. Wake Forest and Duke don’t seem as appealing anymore. I’m sure I would enjoy attending either; it’s just some weird negative feeling that comes with each now. I still have Cornell, Vanderbilt, and WUSTL on my list. I added Northwestern and Columbia. I believe Columbia to be quite the reach though.</p>
<p>I retook the ACT this month and I feel confident about it. Hopefully my score will increase.</p>
<p>Oh. I’m now rank 1/172 in my class; I was able to bring my “B” to an “A.” However this rank is shared by fourteen people. My evaluations were nice. Most of the marks were either 5% or 1%.</p>