<p>Am I the only one who feels that this stat (and the % of students in top ten percent) is a bad thing. If colleges want to even out the playing field even more, I feel they should get rid of this because top 10% is quite variable from school to school and, frankly, a stupid statistic. Sure, it may measure how well a student does around his peers. But my issue is that a hardworking student at a highly competitive school who is top 12% has his chances greatly hurt as opposed to him excelling in a non-competitive public school somewhere else. Like GPA, this stat may not always correlate properly from one school to another.</p>
<p>No, you're not the only one to question this (and other) numbers. There are many high schools that do not rank, and student transcripts are sent to college admissions offices without class ranking. Unfortunately, we live in a metrics-happy society that is happy to have as many numbers as can be had -- even when those numbers are derived from dubious approaches. Some colleges will even create approximated decile rankings just to have another quantifiable category to integrate into the admissions process. In most cases, the evaluative process is never going to stand one measurement apart from others, and in context, a single factor should never make too much of a difference. </p>
<p>In many respects, it's best to simply not be too concerned about it, lest you fall victim to the generalized frenzy of the admissions process, looking to exploit every imaginable advantage and to mitigate every conceivable disadvantage. Just chill! ;)</p>
<p>Extending this logic further, we should eliminate GPA as well. It becomes yet another number to categorize students in the admission game. It is best to use holisitc parameters such as essays, descriptive recommendations (no numbers or comparisons) from teachers and employers, and personal interviews etc.
I think once enough people get tired of the current rat race, innovative methods will emerge.</p>
<p>Colleges, except for some state schools, do recognize that top 10% means very different things at different schools. At the hs I attended, more than 30% go to ivies S & M every year.</p>
<p>My son's school does not rank and does not calculate gpa for any student
The transcript reflects the course work taken and the grades earned
In the school profile the mean SAT score is reported and the mean junior year GPA with a range.</p>
<p>Though I do not mind comparing one student to another in a school, I do have a serious issue with colleges obsessed with maintaining a high percentage of students in top 10%. It really hinders many bright, young people from having a reasonable chance, just so colleges can satisfy that stupid little statistic.</p>
<p>I think that it should be eliminated as well. In my school, you have to be the top 3 in the class to be in the top 10%. I love looking at the threads where people say you have to be in the top 1 or 2% to get into the top schools. I know its possible at some schools, but at mine...we just laugh.</p>
<p>Give the admissions professionals at colleges a little more credit. They are perfectly capable of figuring out class ranks in the context of the specific type of high school. They know that a top 20% rank at Thomas Jefferson or Stuyvescent or Exeter means something different than it does a Podunk Regional High.</p>
<p>At very selective colleges, the academic track record in high school is probably the single most important factor considered.</p>
<p>I'm not a big anti-numbers person, but I have to admit this one is not very reliable unless all guidance counselors everywhere make it very clear how the rank is calculated. Our large local public high schools do not give any weight to honors or advanced placement courses, so it is entirely possible, and in fact it happens, that students who have never taken an honors or AP course rank first in the class. And this is at a school that offers many AP classes. To make it even worse, the A range is cut off at 95%, and 92-94% is an A-, calculated at 3.75 or something. It isn't easy to score above 95% in five AP classes. There are very few 4.0 among students who challenge themselves, but there are plenty of 4.0 in the senior class. Do colleges pay attention? I wouldn't know.</p>
<p>Midmo, that's why there's a thing all schools have called a profile which explains how they weigh and gives colleges the information they need to understand all of the things you're worried about. If your school offers 5 APs and you took 5 they'll know you had the hardest load. If 50% of your class is headed for community college, they will know people who took no hard classes may have had higher GPAs. If the average SAT is 1500 and yours is 2200, you will look very accomplished.</p>
<p>Blahhhhh. why do i feel deja vu in every thread i read on CC. I feel like there's no new issues left to discuss so we just discuss stuff we've already discussed. someone needs to announce they're a transvestite or something!</p>
<p>I don't really like the idea of %/ranks, either, just because there's a huge credibility gap from school to school. Even though more extreme examples of harder, competitive schools vs. "easier ones" are often pointed out, there are more subtle cases where students were discriminated for/against because of their rank. My school doesn't give out rank (officially), but like suze said, colleges are probably pretty adept at this point to take an unofficial guess at the students' position in the class (school profiles probably help out here..).</p>
