Class Rank Clarification

woogzmama
Sat, 11 Oct 2014 21:43:33 +0000

It really depends on what students 1-16 look like, where they’re applying, how your school calculates rank, and how you’ll stack up against the competition - not only within your own class, but within a cohort of other Chinese-American students with similar profiles from your region of CA. If the top 25 students in your class all have SAT scores over 2300, and you have no special leadership activities or accomplishments to distinguish you, then you probably should formulate your college list carefully. You are fortunate to live in a state with outstanding public universities. If 20 students are applying to Stanford, and they are all at least as qualified as you, your chances aren’t very good. You might try to branch out to some private colleges in other parts of the country, along with UCs. Talk with your guidance counselor or college adviser for some input regarding other students’ intended applications. Your test scores are competitive everywhere. Your GPA shouldn’t disqualify you automatically, if you have taken the most rigorous courseload available. If your school is a competitive one, the top students’ GPAs are probably extremely close, with rank determined by tiny fractions of points. I’ve said it before: it’s the difference between an A or A- on a science project or math test during your sophomore year. Colleges get that, or I certainly hope they do.