Strength of school impact on class rank?

Roadking

10-Year Member
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Jan 26, 2012
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I am interested in how WP "adjusts" class rank depending on the strength or ranking of the school as a whole. DS is hopeful of a positive adjustment, he is in a strong school system here in the northeast. He has fairly good ACT-31, with 33-english, 33-reading, 30-science and 28-math. He is a recruited athlete and passed his CFA at SLS. The reason for the concern is his class rank is 130 of 354. Since class rank is so important, is this a problem? Thanks for your thoughts.
 
My dd was accepted as recruited athlete. She wasn't in the top 10 percent of her class either. Athletes have a separate admissions track and if you are deemed competitive and a coach wants you you're golden.
 
You must be fully qualified, but there is a "different" standard for recruited athletes. His scores were good and the class standing should be no problem.
 
My son (now a rising Cow) attended a small, but strong high school - 100% went on to college.

School does not rank, but son estimated he was in middle of a graduating class of 75.

ACT/SAT scores similar to what OP posted. Took Honors and AP classes and did well.

Lettered in sports; team co-captain. Did not pursue athletics for WP.

Active in community service.

He completed his file by end of September and was offered an LOA.

In retrospect, key influencers: strong school, test scores, and completed file early. Overall, well rounded.

Note well: applicant pool is highly competitive. Do the best you can.
 
I am interested in how WP "adjusts" class rank depending on the strength or ranking of the school as a whole. .

A "class rank" would not be adjusted, as every student being ranked also attends the same strong school, right?

I can understand WP adjusting a GPA or some other academic factor when comparing applicants from different schools, but not the class rank from the same school.

Strong or weak, everyone there would be influenced/affected by the strength/weakness.

Or am I missing something?
 
WP does take into consideration the strength of your school when evaluating you academically. In competitive schools, a good GPA may not necessarily result in a good class rank. Therefore, WP will adjust your class rank if you go to a competitive school.
WP likes to see that you are in at least the top 20% of your class. Your place in the class %-wise comes from your class rank.

WP uses class rank for the academic evaluation instead of GPA because it compares you to your HS peers and not to students at other HS's that offer different classes or a different grading scale.
 
buff81 said:
WP does take into consideration the strength of your school when evaluating you academically.

Agree, when comparing applicants from different schools.

In competitive schools, a good GPA may not necessarily result in a good class rank. Therefore, WP will adjust your class rank if you go to a competitive school.

Explain.

I seem to be missing how a student's class ranking could be adjusted at any particular school based on the strength of that school, since all the other students who are being ranked at that school are also attending the same strong competitive school and therefore would also need to be adjusted, right?

buff81 said:
WP uses class rank for the academic evaluation instead of GPA because it compares you to your HS peers and not to students at other HS's that offer different classes or a different grading scale.

I understand adjusting other academic measuring criteria when comparing students from different schools. But not adjusting class rank.

For example - I go to a really really strong competitive school, and I have a 3.70 GPA, and my class rank at that school is 48 out of 294.

What particular factor would be used to adjust my class rank at that school that also wouldn't be applied to every other student at that school?

:confused:
 
This really would best be explained by a RC. Maybe other FFRs can pipe in if they know more about this - but - this is my understanding.
Class rank determines your placement in your class %-wise. This is what I think WP is looking at - are you in the top 20% - top 10% - top 35%.

In your example, the candidate at the really, really strong competitive school is ranked 48/294 with a 3.70 GPA which is the top 20%.
A 3.70 at a less competitve HS across town may land a candidate in that HS a Top 5% place in the class.
So as not to penalize the candidate at the competitive school, the class rank will be adjusted.
I have no idea how much they are adjusted or what they use to determine how much to adjust.

My guess - and purely a guess as we are not privy to a lot of WCS details - is that WCS points are given based on where you placed %- wise in the class and not actual class rank.
 
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