<p>just how much does being in the top 10% of your class really matter to most colleges? not including ivies or ivy level admission schools, but just colleges that come around 50 and lower on the US News college rankings... i mean if you are just very close to being in the top 10% will they still cut you? </p>
<p>also, when colleges report % of freshman class in top 10% of high school class are they talking about top 10% after senior year or up until junior year (the grades that affect class rank at time of application)? if they include senior year, would being able to help convince a college that you will be in the top 10% of your class by the time you graduate help out a lot?</p>
<p>one more thing, assume the high school is completely average. it's not a feeder or super competitive school, nothing like that.</p>