Are Charter High Schools class rank view differently?

[Maximus]

My son goes to a Charter High School and had to go through an application process to be admitted and drug tested. They need a minimum GPA or they are not allowed to attend. Obviously it's 2.0 and they have the opportunity to make it up and usually the weaker ones leave and go back to one of the other high schools in our County. This school was recognized by our Governor for being the best public high school in our County @ A+. My question is, do Admissions look at this or should we bring it up in the essay? I'd ask at school but the guidance counselor is getting tired of answering questions.....the Charter School has never had a child admitted to a SA and their arts based curriculum is...well, lets just say a tad Liberal.
He's a commuter student at one of the other high schools in the county that has a NJROT unit, he commutes there every morning then back to his Charter School for the rest of the day. His class rank is in the top 2/5ths but definitely in the top 10% This worries me as I know class rank is huge. The regular high schools have 10 times the students in each class and his class is only about 160 seniors this year.

Not making excuses just putting some perspective on this situation as I too read this forum and kind of know what the answer should be but, we had some serious family problems (illness and death) when he was a freshman and start of sophomore year and he had to work to help out; so his slightly mediocre performance during those years is easily explained and his stellar effort after refocusing, is clearly shown in his junior year. His Math and English teachers love him and promised us the best recommendation they could offer and I see that they have already submitted them to the Academy.
His Senior Naval Science Instructor has given him his highest recommendation and will Nominate him this fall. We're working on ACT's and SAT's and he should finish up with about a 28 to 30 on his fall ACT. His GPA is at 3.34 now and improving everyday. He's enrolled in a ACT/SAT prep course and they've identified his problem in math and have corrected it, he's ready for a promising senior year, his senior courses are pre-calc, physics, economics, English IV, American Government and Naval Science . He has one varsity letter for Orienteering as Commander and Captain and three leadership billets at the NJROTC right now in his Battalion. He's an Ensign and Ops Officer for Bravo Company. He's definitely assured letters in the Rifle Team, Orienteering and Sailing with an outside chance of a Crew letter. He works weekly for Habitat for Humanity and last year, he lead the Community Service for his unit as Commander and personally logged over 75 hours his junior year with a unit cumulative hours of over 1,000. He attended NASS session one and excelled there, loved it!
My wife and I are worried that if he doesn't get in his first shot he'll be crushed. He's been forced to make alternate plans and we have plans up to "E" and "F" with other schools.

Any thoughts?

 

[usna1985]

First, USNA CGO knows which schools are magnet schools or otherwise may draw from a different pool than the typical high school. However, if your child attends a school that has not had anyone apply to a SA in recent years or ever, it's something you may want to note and ask others (i.e., your recommenders) to note as it's possible that USNA may not be familiar with your school demographics.

As for whether class rank is viewed "differently," that's a tougher question. It is still largely a question of what classes you take and how you compare to your peers. It's not like you get a free pass to be in the bottom of your class merely because you attend a private/charter/magnet school. You might get cut a bit of slack, but you still want to be in at least the top 40%.

 

[NorthernCalMother]

I wondered about this when my son applied, too, though I know his high school inserts a brochure re: how competitive it is (high median test scores, 95% of the grad's go to a 4 yr school, etc.) when they send transcripts for all college app's. Also, son's BGO knew his school, and I believe he mentioned it as influencing ranking in his report.

Teacher recommendations would be a great opportunity to explain this, but if your son's are already sent, he might want to mention his concern about rank when he has a BGO interview.

 

[Maximus]

The USNA admissions site recognized the school with a code when we applied and it was different from the other school he goes to for NJROTC.

First, USNA CGO knows which schools are magnet schools or otherwise may draw from a different pool than the typical high school. However, if your child attends a school that has not had anyone apply to a SA in recent years or ever, it's something you may want to note and ask others (i.e., your recommenders) to note as it's possible that USNA may not be familiar with your school demographics.

As for whether class rank is viewed "differently," that's a tougher question. It is still largely a question of what classes you take and how you compare to your peers. It's not like you get a free pass to be in the bottom of your class merely because you attend a private/charter/magnet school. You might get cut a bit of slack, but you still want to be in at least the top 40%.