Decile/Rank

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm basically just wondering how much an impact not being in the Top 10% of my class would be for chances at Ivy Leagues/Elite Liberal Arts - this isn't a "my chances" thread but rather a general question about the importance of decile or rank when its compared to an exact GPA. </p>

<p>For my own case, what's the impact? I'm second decile with a 4.09 GPA, and my school only ranks by decile. It's a very competetive private school, with only 66 graduating kids...so top decile is 6 kids. I have 2390 SATs, 800, 790, 770 and 800 SATIIs in Writing, Literature, US History, and Math 2, and I have 4 5's on APs: US History, English Lit, Spanish, and Calculus AB.</p>

<p>The stats (including GPA) seem great except for the decile matter. At schools like Harvard, where their stats are all-important (at any Ivy for that matter), 96% of Freshmen were in the top 10% of their HS Classes. That 4% must be reserved for jocks and legacies and special cases - is this always true?</p>

<p>What is the relative importance of decile/rank/GPA, and in what way does it compare to the importance of standardized tests?</p>

2

<p>how are there possibly at least 6 kids ranked above you?!</p>

3

<p>Rank is more important for public schools. I think you'll be fine.</p>

4

<p>There are 6 girls who are working machines. Unfortunately, I decided to be happy and not a complete psycho during High School. That's how there's at least 6 ranked above me!</p>

<p>But just in general...as a matter of simple statistics, does decile/rank have the ability to destroy someone's chances?</p>