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I'd just like to know who is ranked in the top 25% of their high school class and what are the benefits towards being so highly ranked. What weigh do they have on the college admission process? Should one be happy if their in the top 25% of their class or should they strife for more?
Thanks.

By Tuannguyen (Tuannguyen) on Tuesday, March 04, 2003 - 11:00 pm: Edit

Top 25% of your class isn't bad, but i don't think it's good either. To be "highly" ranked you should be atleast in the top 10% of your class.

I'm in the top 5% for sure, and still i'm not happy about it. I what to be #1, always strive for more, until you get what you want don't stop unless necessary or preferable. Of course, don't do it the cheap way by taking easy classes either... What would be the challenge in that?

By Track4life17 (Track4life17) on Monday, March 10, 2003 - 11:29 am: Edit

top 25% is good, but not really good, as that just means if, 3 other people were randomly picked, u would be better than them, on average...yes, yes, u can do it by taking easy classes but colleges will se that for sure and most definitely not give u the credit the person ranked just below with all AP/honors courses will get. but, yes, top 20-25% is good, but try for top 10%.

By Kalitiha (Kalitiha) on Monday, March 10, 2003 - 12:03 pm: Edit

Decile rankings really suck in a small school. My class has 30 people in it, so only the top 3 are in the top 10%. And not a single one of those people have ever taken a difficult course. But in larger high schools, you should shoot for the top 10% because 25% is like getting a C if you were doing a grading scale.

By Anothersuitcase (Anothersuitcase) on Monday, March 10, 2003 - 05:23 pm: Edit

It really depends on the size of your class. My class consists of 600 students, so the top 25% would be the top 150 students - not particularly hard to strive for. I'm ranked in the top 2%. However, if your class size is small, then a ranking in the top 25% could be commendable.

By Coles (Coles) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 06:05 pm: Edit

Top 25% at my school is very good. To get in the top 25% your GPA must be a little bit higher than 3.8. My class is 475 students and the top 10% have GPAs of 4.6 or higher. I attend a very good public school in Virginia.

By Jumbo (Jumbo) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 09:32 pm: Edit

to elite admissions, its not that good. to many second tier its good. to lower first tier....its acceptable.
This observation is completely contingent upon the fact that your school only goes by quartile (25% 50% 75%) rankings.

By Arthur (Arthur) on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 09:42 pm: Edit

jumbo, what do you think of my chances for tufts rd?

gpa: 3.9 w 3.3 uw (school does not rank. if it did, i would be somewhere around top 25% uw top 15%/top 10% w. school is a prestigious public school that sends a ton of kids to ivies each year). i have taken the hardest courseload.
8 ap classes by the time i graduate. 4, 4, 5 on the three tests i have taken.
sat1: 1520 (780 m 740 v)
sat2s: 790 wr, 760 m1c, 690 ush
varsity sport. will possibly play in college (tufts' team for my sport is great though), coach has contacted ad. office.
won a couple of awards for research.
rec. from aforementioned coach.
rec. from 2 teachers and from guidance counselor.
good essay
member but no position in a few clubs

any chance at all? i would love to attend tufts.

By Incognito (Incognito) on Thursday, March 13, 2003 - 05:45 pm: Edit

bump--this is interesting

By Arthur (Arthur) on Thursday, March 13, 2003 - 07:36 pm: Edit

bump

By Jumbo (Jumbo) on Thursday, March 13, 2003 - 08:51 pm: Edit

I'm pretty sure Tufts would love to have you. I hope to see you there next year I got in ED this year too...and my stats weren't as high as yours.

By Crazyandy (Crazyandy) on Thursday, March 13, 2003 - 09:38 pm: Edit

my class has 93 kids in it. I'm ranked 9 so i'm at the cutoff for top 10%. I know I'm going to finish at least in the top 15% since lots of GPAs behind me are dropping. I'm a transfer from my soph year so i'm a credit behind (thats why i'm ranked 9 instead of 3) But with me going to college next year I can make up for the lost credit (pending i get A's). I hope that looks good to the more selective schools (UMich, Notre Dame)?

By Jumbo (Jumbo) on Friday, March 14, 2003 - 12:35 am: Edit

it really depends on everything else you have.

By Arthur (Arthur) on Friday, March 14, 2003 - 01:00 am: Edit

the reason i am posing this question (on this thread) is my gpa is low. 3.3 uw.

my school does not rank, as i said, but if it did i am not even totally sure i would be top 25% uw. w, i would definitely be top 25% and probably about top 15%, but i can't be certain.

anyway, my other stats are good, but tufts is an elite school. just figured i'd throw out some food for thought.

By Jumbo (Jumbo) on Friday, March 14, 2003 - 01:52 am: Edit

unweighted doesn't hurt you, as most schools recalculate a weighted GPA. So you're fine, since you're taking so many classes. Its ok to get B's in AP's, since you're trying to juggle so many. Your standardized testing is very impressive though..as are your sports credentials.

By Jimjunior (Jimjunior) on Friday, March 14, 2003 - 03:57 am: Edit

I do not believe in weighting gpas. My school does not weight any grades until senior year APs. We offer up to a 4.3 with an A on an AP. That means that if I managed to get perfect grades at a difficult school I would end up with less than a 4.1. Other schools around me offer a 5 for their honors and top classes for sophomore, junior and senior years. A kid can end up with a 4.3 ccummulative even with a scattering of B's and A-. Since schools weight differently I think that all colleges should look at unweighted and thenlook at whether or not the student was taking the highest courses offered by his or her school