When I worked in admissions, I read applications from the Seattle area, so lots of applications from Newport High School in Bellevue came across my desk, each full of top scorers, heavy AP schedules, and strong extracurriculars.
And yet? Many of those students didn’t stand out.
That’s not because Newport isn’t impressive. It is. But because admissions officers know that Newport is a rigorous school, they read Newport applications differently. When you apply from Newport, your academic and extracurricular achievements are compared to everything Newport has to offer.
That context is defined by one document: your school profile.
So let’s break down the real story behind Newport’s rankings, and I’ll talk about what selective colleges are actually looking for.
Newport consistently places at the top of public school rankings in Washington:
It’s clear why families in tech-heavy Eastside neighborhoods target Newport: it’s academically rigorous, has an excellent college-going culture, and sits in the heart of a region known for tech and business.
But here’s the thing:
Admissions officers don’t care how high your school ranks on Niche or US News. They care what your grades, course load, and activities look like compared to other students at Newport.
That’s why they use the school profile.
Let’s walk through Newport’s 2024–25 school profile, which your counselor sends to colleeges via the Common App alongside your transcript.
Because Newport doesn’t rank students, admissions officers rely heavily on GPA distributions and course rigor to determine where a student stands in their class. The more rigorous your course schedule, and the higher your grades, the higher they’ll place you.
The takeaway is that At Newport, taking many APs is normal. So a student applying to a top college with only 2–3 APs will probably be at a disadvantage in the school group.
Let’s walk through what this means from inside the admissions office.
Newport students are grouped together. Your AO is likely someone who reads all applications from Bellevue and probably Seattle (maybe even Tacoma or all of Washington too).
They sort students by:
If a student from Newport got into Dartmouth last year with 10 APs and a 4.0 GPA, and you have a 3.7 and 4 APs, you’re already at a comparative disadvantage.
Step 3: Holistic Evaluation
Selective schools tend to use rigor and GPA to decide who gets a second read, then they look deeper at things like essays, ECs, and recommendations to determine who goes to committee and makes the final round.
If your transcript or ECs don’t stand out within the context of Newport, your application may never get that deeper review.
Newport is a great fit for students who are:
If you want to know how your application might read in the Newport school group, that’s what we do every day. Book a free consult with Sierra and we’ll walk through it with you.