How do you know that for sure, about ALL top schools? I am saying that there is a screening process. If your application does not meeting certain criteria, it is put on a separate heap to be rejected. Class rank is weighted more heavily in some colleges than others. And Dartmouth in particular favors Vals and Sals.
“fit” consideration comes after you pass the initial screen. It does not make sense to consider fitness if you will be filtered out in the first round.