My high school has low averages?

[AnxiousApplier]

<p>I go to a small high school and our average grades and SAT scores aren't that great. (GPA- 2.5UW 2.0W/ SAT- 1490) My grades are above average for my school but they still do not stack up to what many colleges have wanted.</p>

<p>My grades are 3.0UW and 3.5W.( I've taken all AP and honors classes available at my school, except for AP calculus.)
My first SAT score was 1730. (Tested again in November. Also will re-test in December.)
Class Rank: 12/63</p>

<p>Will my schools' low averages hurt my applications or help them? My school also doesn't offer too many clubs or other extra-curricular activities, so will not having as many as some other applicants really tarnish my application also?</p>

[WarmGesture]

<p>The low GPA will in your school will most likely not hurt you because colleges usually look at your school profile in which they compare you to other students in your school GPA-wise. So if your particular school has harsh grading policies and no one ever gets an A GPA, while you have a B+, it still looks okay, rank helps with that too. Your SAT has nothing to do with your school though, it counts as self/outside studying....should boost that SAT score if you're looking to go somewhere competitive. ECs are a sticky situation because many people have ECs outside of school, like volunteer work and whatnot. You may have a lack of clubs, but not having much ECs in general is not the fault of the school.</p>