Hey, I am currently attending Enloe where I took 1 AP freshman year, and am currently taking 5 sophomore year, I have mostly straight A’s yet I am still worried about my class rank since I attend Enloe. Enloe is super competitive and filled with students who take 6-7 Ap’s per year. Many students even transfer put since it is so competitive here, but I am hoping not to do that. I was just wondering if someone who graduates or is still at Enloe could share their stats (how many Ap’s, weighted/unweighted GPA) and talk about what their class rank was. Thanks!
I don’t have kids at Enloe- they go to another school not far away with IB. Your concern is the same as many kids at schools everywhere. My D18 went the IB route and the IB kids dominate the top 10% of the class. Her 4.96 (she is on the over inflated GPA- you are not) only gets her in the 30’s out of 600 of class rank at her school.
Which colleges are you looking at that you are competing with your fellow classmates- my guess is UNC and possibly Duke, maybe you are thinking Ivies??? We’ve had kids who have higher GPA’s been turned down to those schools and ones with lower accepted. The lower ones had hooks or were very involved in activities and the difference in GPA was minimal. Do the math, over multiple classes you will find that the extra bump up of AP doesn’t amount to much- especially if you don’t make the A, and the fact that the school system has lowered the reward from 2 quality points to 1, it makes it even less important. In the end you should take the AP classes that interest you and you can do well in, because there is no guarantee that even if you load up on AP you will get into your top choice of school. Going all AP also keeps you from being well rounded. A lot of our top kids are active in the arts and those aren’t going to be weighted. UNC is holistic, so sacrificing GPA to take an arts class doesn’t necessarily hurt you and not every college heavily considers class rank. Ask you GC how many AP you have to take to get them to check that you have taken the most rigorous course load, that’s the number you are looking for.
Thank you for your reply! That was super helpful. Yes, I might be considering the Ib program or AP capstone. I am hoping to focus on some of my passions, and I hope to manage my time well. I’m considering taking a lot of AP courses because I like to challenge myself, and honestly, most of my peers are doing the same. I intend to complete 17-19 AP courses by the time I graduate and hope to get All A’s (or1-2 B’s.) I am aiming for the ivy league, particularly Brown. So since I don’t really have any demographic hooks I feel like Gpa/class rank/test scores will make a huge difference.
I like photography and creative writing as far as arts go, but I am currently pursuing these outside of school. Anyways, your reply was very helpful, and I am just hoping that everything goes well.
did you consider going to NCSSM? perhaps NCSSM online or does Enloe have comparable courses?
@ruby724 I will never pretend to know the secret formula to get accepted into an Ivy, but our two accepted kids were very well rounded. Both IB, both sports, one with many clubs (Key Club, Student council, every honors club, started a club!!!- you get my drift) and leadership roles. Both had only a handful of AP, one had a hook. We also had several that were flat out rejected, there really doesn’t seem to be a pattern or formula.
Hopefully your guidance counselor can steer you in the right direction- they should have stats on anyone from your school that has been accepted into Brown. Get to know your GC- I’m sure it’s a lot like our school, my D18 didn’t see hers about college until a month after she applied- he then informed them, that the school had messed up class rank- she was ranked higher than reported. The GC will probably need to write a rec- visit before the end of the year! I wish you the best of luck!