<p>I'm in the top 10 percent, but my rank isn't nearly as impressive as some of what I've seen reported/worried about here. I estimate I'm between 40/650 and 60/650 in my class, it's a pretty competitive school I suppose (sends students to Yale, Princeton, Columbia, etc.) Even if I'm in the top ten, does it hurt me if I'm not ultra high like 10 or 4/650, assuming I want to get into Cornell.</p>
<p>If your high school has a lot of students who apply to the same college, then they will compare students from the same high school. Adcom committees go thru the applicants in order by state and high school. This is described in some of the insider books. They will even go back and look at how many students from the high school applied, were accepted and attended in previous years. Basically, they first decide how many to take, and then they take the best from who applied. An exception to this are feeder high schools that a college will depend on for a reliable number of very qualified applicants each year who will actually attend. Thomas Jeff HS is a feeder for UVA. Some of the NY high schools are feeders for Columbia. </p>
<p>Pick your matches and reaches accordingly. One thing you can do is to apply to colleges that most people in your hs do not apply to. If you live in the Northeast, apply to Calif colleges.</p>
<p>I live in Arkansas, I imagine Cornell isn't a common choice for folks down here, but I'll have to double-check.</p>
<p>I was really worried about the same thing. I'm not even in the top 10% with my 3.94 UW because I go to a very small and competive school that doesn't weight grades. We don't rank except for valedictorian, but I was afraid that not having a 4.0 would hurt me. I was accepted EA to my first choice, a top 25 school, and I was invited to the recruiting weekend for top students. The admissions committee wasn't overly concerned about my GPA since I had an otherwise strong application. As long as you have taken a demanding courseload and gotten good grades, I don't think it matters if you have, say, 3 Bs on your transcript. Good luck, and try not to worry.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'll try not to. The only problem is, I've got more Bs than that as well. My GPA's fairly good (3.8 uw, 4.0w), but in my harder classes I have more like six or seven Bs spread out over three years. My hope is to rack up all As this semester to convey a strong finish.</p>
<p>I've got 2 Bs total in my high school career (one in freshman year, one in an AP course) and my rank is like, 30/537 or something. I really wish my school weighed GPAs because I have a feeling that a majority of those 29 people with straight A's don't take the hardest AP courses, etc. (I think they do weigh for valedictorian though, which is definitely good, or we'd have 29 people giving speeches and that'd be a pretty long ceremony).</p>
<p>the weighted grades in class rank might end up hurting me, but what's most likely to is the amount of bs, despite a good unweighted gpa. there's always the probability that I'm putting too much emphasis on it.</p>
<p>What I said in post #2 about multiple applicants from the same high school probably doesn't apply to you. That applies when very many people apply from the same high school. The top 10% cutoff is important. Then top 5% is a cutoff, and then val/sal. I wouldn't worry too much about the rank. They will go next to your standardized test scores and your EC's.</p>