So I have a question about high school rankings and it’s affect on your college admissions that I’d like a few perspectives on. I’ve heard that going to a magnet school can be detrimental since they rank you based on everyone else who applies from your school.
For example, Student A goes to a high school that is ranked nationally because of its renown magnet program. To get into this program, Student A had to test in the top 1% and everyone in the magnet program is put on an IB course. Even though her high school is located in one of the “richest” neighborhoods in the United States, Student A is a URM and her family lives on the poverty line. As a result, she’s not able to get SAT/ACT/AP/IB prep classes outside of school, putting her at a disadvantage when compared to others in her grade.
Student B, goes to an underserved high school and has the same income and financial situation as Student A. The only thing is, Student B’s school doesn’t have IB or a magnet program so the classes she takes in relation to Student A’s classes are much much easier.
Student A and Student B have the same GPA, same test scores, same socio-economic status, etc.
Theoretically, who would get into the “better” college? I’ve heard/read/been told that colleges rank you based on people at your school because they assume everyone there has the same advantages, and it would be unfair to compare them yon student B and the people at her school.
But, isn’t this unfair in a way? If it’s true of course. It’s not fair for the colleges to assume that you have more advantages/opportunities than another student just because you go to a certain high school.
What do you guys think about this?
In other words, all else being equal? Well, all other things are never equal. So there is no definitive answer to your hypothetical question. Top colleges, and its peers, evaluate applications holistically.
An applicant will be evaluated based upon his/her HS and its offerings. Also note than over half of US high schools, including many of the most highly regarded high schools, do not provide a cardinal/ordinal rank. At best, the college will need to extrapolate based upon info given, like GPA and decile rank.
While it’s hard to compare gpas from different high schools, the nationally ranked school, will be perceived as more rigorous than the underserved school. So if the gpas are the same, the gpa from the ranked high school is more impressive. That applicant may be considered to be better prepared due to the rigor of his high school curriculum.
Khan Academy is available to all free of charge.
With respect to differing circumstances, they could be addressed in one’s college application essays.
You don’t need to pay for a SAT/ACT study class. All you need is a notebook, pencil and some time. The library offers study books with sample tests as does Barnes and Noble. The books offer the same study guides and tips as a class does. You can take the sample tests writing your answers in your notebook and timing yourself, then compare your test to the answer guide in the book.
Thanks everyone for the replies!
@GloriaVaughn @Publisher I know you don’t have to pay to study for the ACT/SAT. I was merely posing a question, which neither of you answered and instead decided to give tips on how to study
@MangoLover11223 the AO’s in universities are very aware of the rigor of the curriculum in a given school. They also see that it is a Magnet school and your trascripts and essays and letters from your teachers and GC will reflect this infromation about you.
This holds true for a very reputable private scholl as well. Each applicant is evaluted holistically, so even students in your own school are not “EQUAL”
Depending, if your school actively uses and updates Naviance, you may be able to see past graduates data that helped them to be admitted to a given university. But that is just one piece of the puzzle.