My DD's HS has eliminated class rank. There are over 1000 students in each grade. She was a 4.0 unweighted and 4.8 weighted. She is a national merit semifinalist with a 35 ACT. That being said I have been reading class rank is more important than any of the other academic pieces. Are the service academies allowed to reach directly to the HS? I know someone must know the kids class ranks, Any advice for her would be appreciated.
No class rank?
- Thread starter mara
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USNA deals with this quite a bit, as more schools take the “we don’t rank” route. USNA wouldn’t contact the school — and the school wouldn’t tell, lest that defeat the whole purpose of not ranking. Instead, USNA uses the school profile to extrapolate where your DD stands. Others here more knowledgeable about the process will surely weigh in, but that’s the basic approach the SAs take. Your DD shouldn’t worry about it because it’s out of her control.
My sons HS also does not rank, that being said we currently have 2 at USNA 3 at USAFA and 2 at USAFA Prep and 1at USMA. Admissions will look at your DD whole profile - class ranking is not within your control. It was also frustrating for us too. But as you can see kids get in!
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Outstanding job Mom and to your Daughter. Nice GPA and ACT! Without the class rank, SAs will rank her with ACT Ranking which should be 99% so no worries on ranking. She’s all set with academic substance, she’s maxed out. Now encourage her to do well and focus on the remaining 40-50% of the application that will count towards her WCS - Whole Candidate Score. In prep for next year, I would strongly encourage her to prepare to place out or review college level on several STEM classes if she can: Chemistry and Physics. They are the two most difficult classes in 4/C and 3/C at all SAs. Also called the Plebe killers. Instructions run very quickly.
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Here is a portion of the School Profile for my DD's Top 10 in country at the time public magnet school that doesn't rank. Reading the profile they will be able to see how she stacks up against others in her school.
Located on the campus of ABC College, H.T.H.S. is a specialized school that emphasizes the disciplines of science, mathematics, and technology in support of its pre-engineering career focus.
The application process has become increasingly competitive with approximately sixty-five students being selected each year from a pool of approximately three hundred outstanding applicants, representing a cross-section of students from fifty-five sending school districts. Students apply as 8th graders and are accepted based on multiple criteria, including middle school grades, and performance on district developed assessments.
A member of the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology (NCSSSMST), H.T.H.S. has been described by the U.S. Dept. of Education as a “benchmark school.”
It went on to say the school “evidences that its approach embraces student, faculty, staff, and administration alike in a mission of excellence, requiring the most of, and providing the most to, all who enter there.”
CLASS OF 2009 62 Graduates
Four Year College -> 100%
NMSQT/PSAT 31 Commended -> 9 Semi-Finalists/Finalists -> 3 Winners
SAT I Mean Scores: 685 (Critical Reading), 725 (Math), 680 (Writing)
AP Exams 100% tested, 151 total exams taken, 94.7% scoring 3 or above AP Courses Biology, Calculus (AB, BC), Chemistry, Physics C, Statistics
Grading System
All courses at HTHS are taught at the Honors level and grades are therefore not weighted or inflated.
92-100 (A) = Superior Proficiency
85-91 (B) = Above Average Proficiency
77-84 (C) = Proficient
70-76 (D) = Partial Proficiency
55-69 (F) = Not Proficient/No Credit Class Rank
The majority of our students earn grades that are exemplary. Each year a large percentage of the senior class receives Semi-Finalist or Commended Status on the NMSQT. We believe that our students’ levels of achievement are not fully communicated by using class rank as a singular transcript statistic. HTHS and XYZ School District policy, therefore, precludes reporting of class rank.
Located on the campus of ABC College, H.T.H.S. is a specialized school that emphasizes the disciplines of science, mathematics, and technology in support of its pre-engineering career focus.
The application process has become increasingly competitive with approximately sixty-five students being selected each year from a pool of approximately three hundred outstanding applicants, representing a cross-section of students from fifty-five sending school districts. Students apply as 8th graders and are accepted based on multiple criteria, including middle school grades, and performance on district developed assessments.
A member of the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology (NCSSSMST), H.T.H.S. has been described by the U.S. Dept. of Education as a “benchmark school.”
It went on to say the school “evidences that its approach embraces student, faculty, staff, and administration alike in a mission of excellence, requiring the most of, and providing the most to, all who enter there.”
CLASS OF 2009 62 Graduates
Four Year College -> 100%
NMSQT/PSAT 31 Commended -> 9 Semi-Finalists/Finalists -> 3 Winners
SAT I Mean Scores: 685 (Critical Reading), 725 (Math), 680 (Writing)
AP Exams 100% tested, 151 total exams taken, 94.7% scoring 3 or above AP Courses Biology, Calculus (AB, BC), Chemistry, Physics C, Statistics
Grading System
All courses at HTHS are taught at the Honors level and grades are therefore not weighted or inflated.
92-100 (A) = Superior Proficiency
85-91 (B) = Above Average Proficiency
77-84 (C) = Proficient
70-76 (D) = Partial Proficiency
55-69 (F) = Not Proficient/No Credit Class Rank
The majority of our students earn grades that are exemplary. Each year a large percentage of the senior class receives Semi-Finalist or Commended Status on the NMSQT. We believe that our students’ levels of achievement are not fully communicated by using class rank as a singular transcript statistic. HTHS and XYZ School District policy, therefore, precludes reporting of class rank.
Thank you for this information but with my daughter's public school being a mammoth with a graduating class of over 1,000 I don't believe her " school stats" will hold a candle to the information on the school listed above. I am going to hope they look at her specific merit on the plethora standardized test scores, athletics and service activities she submitted
Thank you for this information but with my daughter's public school being a mammoth with a graduating class of over 1,000 I don't believe her " school stats" will hold a candle to the information on the school listed above. I am going to hope they look at her specific merit on the plethora standardized test scores, athletics and service activities she submitted
Fwiw, we are in the same boat as my DS goes to a public high school with nearly 1000k in his graduating class. They don't rank due to various 'curriculums' each student chooses but what our guidance counselor did was write a letter and have it signed by the principal and superintendent that basically states "we don't rank but from our professional experience, said student would normally be ranked in the Top X%. DS got a LOA so everything else was obviously acceptable to them.
Thank you for this information but with my daughter's public school being a mammoth with a graduating class of over 1,000 I don't believe her " school stats" will hold a candle to the information on the school listed above. I am going to hope they look at her specific merit on the plethora standardized test scores, athletics and service activities she submitted
Right but if they see her SAT is 1420 and the average is 1050 that tells them something.
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@mara, don’t waste a moment worrying about the school profile posted by @bopper. I frankly don’t know how such a detailed excerpt helps your situation.
The point is not to compare one school to another, but to compare a student within his/her own school. No one expects a class of 1,000 to send 100% to college. No one expects a diversely populated school to have as many National Merit semi-finalists as a homogeneous student body at a “specialized school.” And no one expects a public school to teach all courses at the “Honors level.” As far as you’re concerned, that’s neither here nor there.
Fact is, the SAs are composed of cadets/mids from every type of school — big public, small private, cozy home, and everything in between. The only thing you need to worry about is whether your DS is one of the top students in her given environment. SAs have a tried-and-true approach to taking all the data you provide and extrapolating the information they need.
I just showed that as an example of a school profile. Your child would be evaluated relative to the other students in her school.
So if there was no school rank, but she is shown as taking many of the AP classes and having a 90% of the SAT scores, that gives an indication of how she ranks in that school.
So if there was no school rank, but she is shown as taking many of the AP classes and having a 90% of the SAT scores, that gives an indication of how she ranks in that school.