This graph visually depicts the basic interactions between college rankings and GPA/Test Scores. 

Lower Left Quadrant (Low College Ranking, Low GPA/Test Scores): Remember, there are more than 2,000 colleges across the United States that fall into this category. If you want to go to college, there is a college out there that wants you!  This little bit of information can often be very helpful in ratcheting down the anxiety surrounding college admissions.

Upper Left Quadrant (High College Ranking, Low GPA/Test Scores): This is where we find the majority of denials.  If you're applying to a top ranked school, it really helps to have competitive stats.  If your GPA and SAT or ACT score aren't competitive with a school's typical applicants, you'll likely need to have another "hook." A hook is a trait that makes a student more desirable to a college, such as being a highly recruited athlete, excellent musician, development case, Nobel Peace Prize winner, etc.

Upper Right Quadrant (High College Ranking, High GPA/Test Scores): We often refer to the top 50 colleges as "Ivy-Like" (a term coined by Deren Finks, former Dean of Admissions at Harvey Mudd College). This term is a useful reminder that it is roughly as difficult today to gain admittance to one of the top 50 colleges as it used to be to gain admittance one of the Ivy League schools.   

Lower Right Quadrant (Low College Ranking, High GPA/Test Scores): This is where students can find scholarship dollars. If your stats are higher than a school's typical applicant, you significantly increase your chances of receiving of merit-based financial aid.  So, if you have a strong GPA and an SAT or ACT score to match, we would encourage you to ask your counselor about excellent colleges that don't have a huge brand name. You might be surprised about how much money some colleges will give you!

The Ivy League: Up there, in the top right-hand corner, you'll notice a red dot for the Ivy League. Given the difficulty of gaining admittance to these schools (plus Stanford, MIT, and a handful of others), they are quite literally, off our chart. That is not to say that you can't get into one of these colleges -- but for these schools, an excellent GPA and an extremely high test score are the bare minimum requirements.