I know generally being in the top decile in your school for GPA is really all that’s considered, but at least in my school this past admissions cycle, everyone in the top 10 (people, not %ile) got into an ivy or a school of similar ranking, and a few others not in the top 10 (but not lower than top 5%) got into top tier schools. However, I’m not aware of anyone in the bottom of the top decile who got into an ivy or a school similar to an ivy. I’m not saying it’s not possible, but at least in the context of my school, it seemed as if being at the tippy top in terms of GPA helped a lot…
For all Ivy League schools and their peers, GPA is just one part of the equation. That also look at your test scores, EC’s, recs, essays, and to a lesser extent, interviews. Some students at my HS did not get into HYPMS while students with lower GPA’s did. There is no exact science in place here.
I think it depends on your school. We have a ton of students going to IVY and top tier school. We have about 500 students in each class, so I would have to say maybe that is just your school. I think we have at leas 30-40 student go to ivies each year.
And the majority of the 30K HS’s in the US have no students going to Ivy League Schools.
@skieurope Thanks for your insight. If this is the case, then what’s really the point of going for valedictorian/salutatorian status (or, a higher class rank in general)? If you can just scrape by with top 10% while doing some amazing things in high school, then are you, in theory, just as competitive as the valedictorian who has similar extracurricular involvement?
A lot of people say there is no point to going for val/sal. In the end, its a factor to be considered. All other things being equal, being val/sal may well tip the scales. But if other sacrifices are made getting val/sal such that all other things are not equal, a non-val/sal may well get admitted over a val/sal.
In Texas, the Valedictorian can attend a Texas state school free of tuition for one year (10k).
Being a Val or Sal are not particularly helpful for top school admissions by themselves when you are applying to holistic admission schools. The best student at a school who was only involved in academics and showed no involvement in the community or participated in ECs may not make the cut at at a lot of the top schools.
I’ve never said that being val/sal should be a goal. As I’v said on other threads, my HS didn’t even have vals/sals. And while others might disagree, I’m of the opinion that after HS graduation, the only ones that will remember/care who the val/sal was are that person and maybe the parents. 
Well, I would still try to do the best you can; if your goal is only to get to the top 10%, you might end up at 11%. Regardless, if you’re looking for a magic formula, there just isn’t one.
Even being a val is not sufficient for one to get into ivy.
Top 10% from a large public school would be a stretch but from a well known private school graduating only a 100 kids each year and sending 20 kids to each year to top schools - one can easily make the cut.