Do colleges know if you go to a competitive high school or things like that that may explain class ranking and such?
Like for instance my school has a 9/10 on greatschools.
https://www.greatschools.org/california/burbank/1554-Burroughs-High-School/
Well this help in anyway in college admissions?
Typically college admission officers will know about your high school and the average grades/class schedules people from your school have. The more competitive admission to that college is the more likely it is they are informed on different high schools.
AOs are assigned to a region and know the schools in it. No need to worry.
Since you mentioned applying to CSUs and UCs in another thread…
For CSUs, your GPA and test scores just go into the eligibility index formula to be ranked against other applicants for your applied-to campus and major.
For UCs, admission readers will see which high school you attend, though how they do or do not consider it is another story.
On another note, admissions personnel also know the small, very rural and schools with limited choices in their curricula. So students that attend area schools that differ from most schools are known. Admissions does not want to miss a talented student from one of these schools.
Colleges may not necessarily take in how your school is ranked (ie like you said it’s a 9/10) but they do take in consideration many things such as: 1) How many APs/Honors classes the school offers (if a school doesn’t have that many APs available that could explain why a student wouldn’t have that many APs as well) 2) How large the school is/the area the school is located in (typically the larger the school the more competitive it is to be in that top 10%. Also the area matters because if a school is located in a part of town where most kids are dropping out a student who is doing well looks exceptionally good because they have to overcome the surroundings). While these may not play a huge role in your acceptance these are things colleges do look at.