College selection based on class rank breakdown.

[shortnuke]

“Is it valid that if a college has a high percentage of top 10% of HS class students, then the learning environment will be heightened because you basically have a pool of like minded studious students.”

It may be heightened, but it may also be a hyper-competitive environment that will stress out even the brightest students. I remember ready one of Malcom Gladwell’s books (David and Goliath I think) where he told the story of a woman that was in the top of her HS class, went to Brown, and ended up abandoning her dreams of pursuing a career in the science due to the intense competition from her peers.

[ucbalumnus]

@collegehelp

SAT percentiles is a better method for identifying reach/match/safety schools.

Not really, due to different levels of emphasis on SAT (or ACT) scores. For a college that weights SAT scores relatively little, the scores alone would not be a good way to assess reach/match/safety.

[MassDaD68]

@shortnuke That is a good point. I am not sure how my son would react in a hyper competitive environment. I would like to think he would rise to the occasion. But that might just be parental wishful thinking.