<p>I doubt they have a ton of value. You can’t compare applicants based on them, because they’re asking different teachers for the evaluations. One teacher’s Top 5% might be another teacher’s Top 10%. I think basically the only purpose they serve is to see if there is one or more catagories where a student is dreadfully lacking. It’s probably the lowest percentages that can cause some problem for an applicant. But who knows. I find them ridiculous. Many means of assessment are in some way subjective, but that one tries to pretend to be quantitative or scientific or something… it’s stupid.</p>
<p>I used to have to write letters of rec and I never filled it out. I just added a note that the applicant’s attributes would be better and more fully addressed in the body of the letter.</p>