how much do top 20 schools consider rank?
my school doesn't rank but they report 15 students who had the highest GPA in each class (they don't rank those students as well). I will either be in this top 15 or slightly outside of it. if I'm not one of the top 15 students in my class, will colleges know and will it hurt me?
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Hey, David!
Schools do not necessarily care too much about rank. Of course, you will need to be in the top 10 percent of your class to get some merit or jurisdiction usually to these 20 schools, however, if you are just out of that 15 rank requirement your school provides or even in it, it does not matter. If you have maintained at least a 3.8-4.0 Unweighted GPA, your ranking will not play a big role. Top 10 rankings do receive some merit when it comes to based scholarships, however, for college admissions being around the top 5-7% of your class compared to the valedictorian will not put a severe strain on your application at all! On top of that, your school does not even rank at all! Even if they call those 15, they don't possibly know who is the valedictorian of that class and such. However, I'm sure colleges will have somewhat of a holistic role within the application. But, not being within that categorized range is fine as long as you have an acceptable GPA. If you are going to be slightly out of the top 15 or even in it, that is amazing in of itself! Don't stress about it, and highlight every single portion of your application to the best you can!
Read this article for more information!
usnews.com/education/k12/articles/is-high-school-class-rank-still-important
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if I'm not in the top 15, I'll most likely be in the top ~15% of my class. is this low for top 20 schools?