<p>At my kids’ moderately well-known public high school, the val-sal thing clearly does not apply. Applications to Dartmouth are pretty rare, but in recent years several outside of the top 2 have been accepted at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, Columbia, MIT. Not many (any?) outside of the top 10 at those schools, though.</p>
<p>As for ranking unfairness between schools . . . in this district, a kid who isn’t at a strong academic magnet school has to walk on water (or be one heck of an offensive lineman) to have any chance at all at a meaningfully selective college. Neither Johnny nor Susie, notwithstanding her high rank, would have a shot.</p>