<p>I really think the other thread about rank in class being more important
than GPA is totally braindead. It may be true that some Adcoms look at it
that way. But those who know better don't.</p>
<p>Let's take an example. You're comparing two applicants
1. A student from Princeton or Berkeley in the top one-third of the class
2. A student from Chico state (sorry)in the top 2% of t6he class
Who do you think has a better shot at success in grad school
at a leading business, med, or law school?</p>
<p>When you're comparing students across high schools, it gets even worse.
The top one-third in the top 10% of california public schools have
near perfect GPA's. In some schools, you get a single B and your
class rank can drop to 50 out of 400, outside the top 10%!
These schools don't weight GPA's for class rank. So there can be
valedictorians with 4.0 GPA and no AP classes with class rank 1/400.
There ca be kids with A's in AP classes and a B in a regular class
ranked 50/400.</p>
<p>Class rank does not mean the same at a Whitney, or La Canada, or
Lowell or (Stuy?) or just an average school in anytown, america.</p>