News — As colleges and universities in the Northeast make their final decisions on whom to admit for the fall, they won't be able to rely on one of the most widely-used criteria—class rank. That's because many high schools, especially those that are highly competitive, have stopped providing class rank information to colleges.
According to Al Betts, director of admissions at Rowan University in New Jersey, many high schools in the state have dropped class rank primarily due to student anxiety. "They feel that too many students choose classes that will improve their GPA, and thus rank, rather than those from which they will learn the most," he said. "They noticed that some top-ranked students were avoiding subjects that did not have AP classes, such as art and music, while others were avoiding difficult classes so as not to hurt their GPA. Those decisions were preventing them from getting a well-rounded education."
This dilemma is not limited to Rowan. In Rowan's 2nd Annual Survey of Admissions Directors in the Northeast, respondents from every state reported seeing this trend. (The states are: Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. A total of 168 directors were surveyed and 42 responded.)
Admissions directors said they were either dropping class rank altogether or considering it only when provided. They do not penalize students for its omission. Clearly, this is a bigger problem for more competitive colleges.
Although Rowan does not penalize students for not submitting class rank, the practice has caused some difficulties. As a competitive university with more than 8,000 applications for 1,300 seats, class rank and SAT scores are important factors in deciding whom to admit. If class rank is not submitted, then SAT scores carry greater weight, along with other factors such as transcripts, activities and recommendations. Class rank is also a main factor in determining the awarding of scholarships at Rowan and other schools in the Northeast.
According to Betts, this trend is unfortunate because a recent validity study through College Board determined that class rank and SAT scores are the best predictors of first year success in college.
Betts said all of the admissions directors he has spoken with are taking the same approach. "We're just dealing with it, even though it makes the decision more difficult for us. We just hope this practice doesn't hurt more students than it helps."
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