was wondering - I am class of 2021 and I am interested in wake as well but I am not in the top 10% of my class as my school is EXTREMELY competitive. I have demonstrated interest in Wake (I’ve done an interview and emailed about touring and she actually mentioned how she appreciated my demonstrated interest) - my stats are decent with a 4.21 weighted gpa (we don’t do unweighted) and 7 AP classes total after HS. I am also Native American and half African American, if that means anything. I am a very thoughtful writer and I have a lot of important extracurriculars such as piano and yearbook that I am passionate about and I want to be a writer and study film. I don’t want the top 10% of my class to be a dealbreaker , although I am a bit worried. I am top 25% of my Class although that probably doesn’t mean anything . Thank you
Wake lists Class Rank as Very Important in the Common Data Set. It is what it is - you aren’t going to change their evaluation criteria and you aren’t going to magically change your class rank. Work hard, do your best, see where your rank ends up. Being worried about it does nothing.
An application is a portfolio of a lot of material for a school to consider. Work on all of them to make yourself the best candidate rather than stressing over one item. Essay is also a Very Important item, so knock their socks off through your writing.
Fwiw, 25% of their admitted class was not in the top 25%. 8% wasn’t even in the top quarter. You can be sure they were outstanding in other areas of their application.
(Also - due to varied weighting formats, UW GPA is much more useful info. You should be able to easily calculate it yourself, on a 4.0 scale.)
Did you schedule an online interview?
Yes I did
Thanks. I’ve been talking to admitted students that are starting wake this Fall and they say similar things. I don’t believe it to be a dealbreaker as it is one component of an application portfolio, although it’s unfortunate that I am where I am even though I definitely brought it upon myself. It surprises me that my area still does class rank. Anyways, focusing on my writing and extra curricular involvement should probably help, as well as other stats. I won’t be able to change anything so I might as well do the best with what I have. Sad times lol but there’s other school too