How much does class ranking matter?

<p>I hold a steady 4.0 gpa (94.35 cum.) but I'm ranked 54th in my class out of roughly 435 students. The only class I really didn't do well in was driver's ed, sadly. A lot of students ahead of me in the class take super easy/regular classes, or bump their gpa up with multiple bands or choruses (automatic 100). I'm not saying they all do, but the 3rd in my class has a 120%... in strength and conditioning.
So, my question is.. does class ranking matter as much as everyone says it does? My mom is absolutely ****ed at me for letting my ranking slip so low but I have been doing everything I can to save it. (Asian moms. Sigh)
I take all advanced classes and AP, and I've gotten A's in all of these classes. Right now I'm taking Spanish 4, Advanced Anatomy & Physiology, Pre-Ap Lit, Physics, Pre-Calc, and APUSH. Compared to someone who is 20th in the class taking 'Criminal Justice' and 'Sports Med', will I even stand a chance to colleges? I'm looking at pretty prestigious schools and I know being Asian doesn't help at all. (Think Swarthmore, William & Mary, etc.)
I graduate next year (Junior this year) so I know I don't have a lot of time to fix my grades. SAT wise, I'm alright.. in 2000-2100 range although I need to bump it up. I do tons of extra curriculars, and swim year round. But I just want to know if bein 54th is really hurting my ability to get into a good college.
Sorry for this being so long, I'm just a bit upset! Thanks for reading if you stuck around this long!</p>

<p>By the way, I wanted to mention grades are not weighted at my school, so someone who takes a BS class gets just as much credit as someone in an AP class.</p>

<p>As long as you take challenging yourself and are in the top 10% (usually), you are fine.</p>

<p>I’m not in the top 10%… I’m in top 12% ):</p>

<p>It is your junior year. Just try bringing your rank up and you will be fine.</p>

<p>Either way, 2% should not be a HUGE deal.</p>

<p>thanks guys. I know my brother got rejected from like 7 colleges, and he had a higher rank than me, but he got hid HARD with senioritis. But, he’s at UMich right now so I guess it worked out for him. (:</p>

<p>At higher quality schools class rank means very little compared to for example very large publics where not being in the top 10% is a very serious endeavor</p>

<p>Texas public schools are the schools where, to my knowledge, class rank matter the most; even out-of-staters have to rank more or less where in-staters have to rank in order to be put on an equal footing. You want to go to TAMU? UT-Austin? They ask for top 10% and top 7% respectively for in-staters as far as auto-admits are concerned.</p>

<p>In contrast, PSU is a school where ranks don’t matter much. You have a shot at all three schools mentioned, though.</p>