<p>Do Ivies/top colleges place a lot of emphasis on ranking? I’m only 23/217 (barely/not even top 10%). Do I still have a shot?</p>
<p>Bump. Plllllleeaseeeeeeeeee. I’m freaking out.</p>
<p>No, it’s on the bottom of the list for them. What is your gpa/sats?</p>
<p>I got a 3.9 uw and a 4.51 w. I get my ACT score and SAT subject tests scores this week and next. I’m projecting a 32+ on the ACT? Might be unrealistic. T__T</p>
<p>All the super-selective colleges place relatively less emphasis on ranking. It’s very important, but once you reach a certain threshold, increasing rank generates diminishing returns. </p>
<p>Public schools often view ranking as more important. </p>
<p>However, with enough focus, uniqueness, and strength of essays/recs you stand a chance at some of the ivies.</p>
<p>Thank you! I was so worried!</p>
<p>You should not be worried as long as:
you treated Ivy league and similar schools as the longshot or “crapshoot” that they are.
AND
you applied to a good selection of matches and safeties that you would love to attend. The statistics say you might end up at one of those. </p>
<p>To know more about whether a school cares a lot about rank, look at the tables in section C of the Common Data Set for that school.</p>
<p>Thanks! ^
I think I have matches? I have Drexel… That’s about it, haha.</p>
<p>I’ll do that!</p>
<p>Wait.
@bubbles
Do you know what the threshold is?</p>
<p>The threshold is basically top 10% unless you have a VERY compelling reason your rank is low. Think about it this way: top schools expect you to be in the top 1-2% in terms of test scores. That’s on a national scale; why would the standards be lower when you’re only competing against the kids in your high school (ie: class rank)? Maybe your rank got pulled up a couple places if you had a strong first semester? But we really can’t say if you have a shot without more info. Did you get your test scores back?</p>
<p>My rank is low mostly because of home situations. I come from a low SES background.
My SAT IIs were Bio e 700, World History 700 and Math II 650 (I’m retaking in Jan I think). I’m waiting for my ACTs now (may be delayed).</p>
<p>Would you be able to afford Drexel using their aid calculator? </p>
<p>You need at least one straight-up, no-bones safety that you are more or less assured admission into that you can fully afford with programs you like. Maybe that isn’t the college that has the best name recognition or the perfect everything, but unless you want to be staring at not being able to afford the only school you got into or not being accepted into any schools, you need at least one safety.</p>
<p>I’m applying to 18 schools and all are very affordable except for Drexel. Even so, from Drexel I’d only be 10k in the hole.
And by affordable I mean free.</p>
<p>Is Drexel your only match/safety? Are the other seventeen all Ivies/top colleges where everybody’s chances of getting in are like being struck by lightening, or do you have assured admissions to any of those schools?</p>
<p>Yeah. Pretty much. T_T No other safeties. :</p>
<p>I would say that needs to change-- is it possible to add in another state flagship or small LAC where your stats would get you an automatic merit scholarship? It can never hurt to be safe, especially with these schools.</p>
<p>Not so much on the state flagship… </p>
<p>But I have Amherst and Williams. Would that count?</p>
<p>I kinda focused on schools that give free rides to kids whose families make below a certain amount.</p>
<p>Right, which is not bad, but the problem is also that Amherst and Williams are matches for no-one, even if one has impeccably beautiful stats. </p>
<p>That was also my approach to college (though not as many as you have, but still a significant amount), but I also had two mid-tier matches and planned on three absolute safeties to give myself a sense of choice and my family a backup. I dropped applying to one as soon as I had a full-ride at another, but knowing that I have a safety net helps me and my family a lot.</p>
<p>It’s too late for some merit consideration, but not all. I still think you need at least two smaller state universities or private schools that offer full merit aid. Why? Because even with seventeen reaches, you have absolutely no promise that you’ll get into a single one, and there have been people who have applied to a similar range of colleges, had good stats, and then not gotten into a single of the eight schools they applied to-- because they were all Ivies/Amherst and Williams.</p>
<p>You need safety schools. Period. Because while the schools you’ve applied to are certainly going to give you the money, you have to get in first, and nobody, including you, can predict that. Maybe you won’t need the safeties because you’ll get into five fantastic excellent schools. Then you’re out, what, three or so essays? But maybe you don’t get into any, which, in this day and age, is a very real possibilitiy? Were are you now?</p>
<p>I see what you’re saying and it’s very good advice. Right now I’m really struggling to pay for sending my test scores to the colleges I have now. I’m also finding it difficult to request fee waivers. Many schools still want a waiver from my GC even though I’ve tried to express how unwilling my school is to give me some because I am a gap year student (not exactly a priority). I still have seven schools that I’m trying to get fee waivers for.</p>
<p>I will try my hardest to add safety schools! I know of two schools, Andrews U and Oakwood U, that I can get into easily, but they aren’t affordable. 
They have rolling admissions, though, so I’ll apply! Thanks again for your advice!</p>