College Application Questions

[Anonymous]

Do montgomery county public schools have class rank?

If they do not, are college applicants just ranked on GPA and SATs?

How do the top colleges choose students within montgomery county if there is no class rank? Thanks

[Anonymous]

From Common Data Set, things that Harvard considers:

ACADEMIC:
Rigor of secondary school record
Academic GPA
Standardized test scores
Application essay
Recommendations

NONACADEMIC:
Interview
Extracurricular activities
Talent/ability
Character/personal qualities
First generation
Alumni/ae relation
Geographical residence
Racial/ethnic status
Volunteer work
Work experience

Things Harvard doesn't consider (but other schools might):
Class rank
State residency
Religious affiliation/commitment
Level of applicant's interest

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do montgomery county public schools have class rank?

If they do not, are college applicants just ranked on GPA and SATs?

How do the top colleges choose students within montgomery county if there is no class rank? Thanks

No, MCPS does not have class rank. The counselors will send the school profile along with the transcript, which has a breakdown of students' GPAs at that school.

[Anonymous]

From Common Data Set, things that Harvard considers:
Legacy.

basically just one criteria.

[Anonymous]

thank you but how do colleges differentiate between schools that are harder then each other since GPA is considered? Do they put heavy weight on the standardized tests?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:thank you but how do colleges differentiate between schools that are harder then each other since GPA is considered? Do they put heavy weight on the standardized tests?

Many colleges will look at a transcript and then recalculate the GPA for core classes in an attempt to be consistent. They don't care if students got A's in PE or Health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:thank you but how do colleges differentiate between schools that are harder then each other since GPA is considered? Do they put heavy weight on the standardized tests?

MCPS schools are mostly interchangeable. In the end AP English is AP English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:thank you but how do colleges differentiate between schools that are harder then each other since GPA is considered? Do they put heavy weight on the standardized tests?

Each high school sends the school profile to the colleges. The school profile shows what percentage of students have certain GPAs, how kids at school do on SAT and AP exams, how many kids take APs etc.

[Anonymous]

All the colleges that care know how to compare high schools across the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From Common Data Set, things that Harvard considers:
Legacy.

basically just one criteria.

You know nothing about college admissions, nor about the quality of elite legacy admits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From Common Data Set, things that Harvard considers:
Legacy.

basically just one criteria.

You know nothing about college admissions, nor about the quality of elite legacy admits.

What about the boringly average legacy admits?