Class rank vs. GPA

NamD

NamD

Candidate
5-Year Member
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I recently got an email from my Congressional District Coordinator and he stated the following for tips on the USMA application process.
he states:
"While West Point will carefully scrutinize your transcripts to look at the courses you have taken and the grades you received, West Point does not use GPA in its evaluation. The grading variations between schools make GPA an unreliable tool for admission decisions. West Point will be evaluating you based on your class rank, the courses you took, and the quality of your school. If you do not already know what your class rank is, I suggest you ask your counselor. "
If USMA does not look at a candidate's GPA, then how will they be able to evaluate the class rank? Isn't the class rank based off of a student's GPA?
Right now, I am taking an advanced course in math, and 2 AP classes. But my GPA is not impressive at all. From this, how will my class rank be able to determine me as a competitive candidate who took hard courses?
Thanks for all the help!
Dave
 
It's like the kid that takes the most basic classes in a so-so school with a 4.0 GPA compared to a kid that takes honors and AP classes in a competitive or "tough" school and manages to "only" get a 3.6. They're not going to use your GPA and consider you against candidates from other schools. However, class rank shows how competitive you and your school are. The "quality of your school" is like how many kids go off to college after graduation, retention rate, standardized test scores, etc. That coupled with your class rank (like previously stated, how you stack up in your school) will show how competitive you are.

It could also be your GPA doesn't directly count towards your WCS.

Don't forget about SAT's, ACT's, CFA, and extra curriculars. They also count towards your WCS.
 
Last edited:
Class rank is directly affected by your GPA. But, High Schools use different GPA scales. Mine uses a 5.0 scale (yea, idk) and you get extra points for honors and AP classes. So an A in a normal class is worth 5.0, and an A in an honors/AP class is a 6.1. Other schools use a 4.0 scale and other methods. So it is hard to judge everybody on their GPA when everyone's is different. Your class rank, on the other hand, reflects how well you are doing related to your peers. Since everybody at your school is using the same GPA system, everyone will have the same advantage. I suppose the academy assumes, and/or looks into, that most schools are similarly competitive. Basically, every school has the same class rank, but their GPA systems may be different.
 
NamD said:
I recently got an email from my Congressional District Coordinator and he stated the following for tips on the USMA application process.
he states:
"While West Point will carefully scrutinize your transcripts to look at the courses you have taken and the grades you received, West Point does not use GPA in its evaluation. The grading variations between schools make GPA an unreliable tool for admission decisions. West Point will be evaluating you based on your class rank, the courses you took, and the quality of your school. If you do not already know what your class rank is, I suggest you ask your counselor. "
If USMA does not look at a candidate's GPA, then how will they be able to evaluate the class rank? Isn't the class rank based off of a student's GPA?
Right now, I am taking an advanced course in math, and 2 AP classes. But my GPA is not impressive at all. From this, how will my class rank be able to determine me as a competitive candidate who took hard courses?
Thanks for all the help!
Dave
Click to expand...

Let me try state your MOC's statement in a different way

West Point does not soley use GPA for your academic evaluation.

At this point, unless you are planning to transfer to another high school, the only thing you can do is to get the highest grade you can get.

Worry about things you can control. At this point, you can only impact your future grades.
 
This isn't a direct answer to your question or anything, but if you're worried about class rank or GPA, I think you can call the Regional Director and ask if he can tie your "class rank" with your standardized testing score, be it the ACT or SAT.

My high school is pretty ridiculous, so my class rank is 30 out of 74, but I had a 35 on the ACT and I was advised to call it in, and received a "healthy boost" for the academic component of my file.

Hope this helps
 
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