Advice on overcoming high GPA/low rank?

momrath
Fri, 22 Apr 2005 00:45:34 +0000

emswim, I don’t think ranking below the top 10% at your high school will be viewed as a negative. Ranking has become such a contentious issue at competitive high schools across America that many have eliminated it altogether and thus colleges are used to evaluating data in other ways. What is important is that your GC adequately explains the competitive nature of your school and what being in the second decile really means.

In my opinion (of course it’s difficult to quantify) smaller LACs are more likely to view applicants holistically: they look at the whole package – grades, scores, rank, essays, recommendation, ECs, hooks. A strength can compensate for a weakness. The larger universities that have many more applications are likely to be more numbers driven and less likely to be swayed by the compensation factor unless it’s a hook that fits THEIR NEEDS. They have so many excellent applicants so they can afford to make minimum statistics the entry bar.

You have a wonderful profile and will be appealing to many of the colleges on your list. I do hope, however, that for your own peace of mind that you add a less selective or two.