I don’t think that was the consensus of the thread. There was a kerfluffle over why Wesleyan’s 2017 CDS appeared briefly then disappeared.
We do know that someone saw a much lower top-10 GPA % before it was pulled. Guess we’ll have to seem what gets published. Dropping from a shared #12 to a shared #18 was only a 1 point difference in the USNWR scoring methodology, so we know it’s hyper sensitive at the top of the rankings.
OP, sorry, but if you know how all this works, why are you asking?
You mention ivies. Be properly informed.
I posted my reasoning on another thread since that is more about Dartmouth.
I am asking because I want to find other colleges that screen their applicants based on class rank, Val and Sal, top1 percent, top 2%, etc… I have removed Dartmouth from my list 
@hou2019 If you’ve removed Dart because you think they only take Vals and Sals, I’m not sure why you’re applying for Ivies at all- clearly you don’t understand what they’re looking for.
I can’t imagine any schools screen based on that.
Top holistic schools dont do first cut solely on rank. Period. But if your stats are too far outside the profile, you’re in trouble for reasons other than rank.
Similarly, if your rank is high based on easy classes or a rank scheme at your hs that overweights AP or honors, they won’t get excited.
If you are a top performer, great. Now find whether you match the rest of what they value, the qualities and actions. This would steer you better than worrying about rank.
I am just trying to avoid those colleges that looks for things that are not in my profile. I am in the process of finding out what they are looking for. Every school is different. Not all Ivies are the same.
The first question is whether you profile in the median of the Accepted Student SAT or ACT score - if not and you are not a hooked applicant, then it’s a super, super reach and not something that you should spend a lot of time diving into IMHO.
My SAT is good enough for Ivey. Just want to narrow my choices.
Nope not a hook, but it puts you in the game to have a chance at a 5-10% acceptance rate - meaning they will Deny 90-95% of non-hooked applicants that have a near perfect ACT/SAT.
Definitely go for the school of your dreams, but understand that near perfect ACTSAT scores get Denied at every top-20 University and LAC, so have a good mix of schools in order to have great choices to pick from.
I have long suspected this, though it’s a minority opinion on CC. The top colleges have done a very good job of scrubbing their admissions websites clean of overly revealing data, but data from several years ago suggests that rank is quite important at certain schools. When detailed data was last available for Penn, for example, the admit rate for vals (~40%) was higher than for sals (~30%), and both admit rates were considerably higher than for those in the top 5% (~18%). Those numbers, if you halve them to account for increased selectivity, are precisely in line with Brown’s admit rates today – ~20% for vals, ~15% for sals, and ~10% for other top 10%, respectively.
Of course, one could argue that higher class rank correlates with other factors – a valedictorian might be more likely to have high SAT scores, lots of extracurricular activities and leadership, major awards, etc. Perhaps that accounts for differences in val/sal acceptance rates; perhaps it doesn’t.
In any case, as admit rates at the top colleges spiral ever downward, things that used to provide more of an edge (perfect SAT score, valedictorian status, etc.) are now merely slight tip factors. As others have noted, you shouldn’t fixate on any one factor.
In my school, kids in the top 5% are pretty much the same quality. Vals and Sals just play the GPA games better.
I do not know whether Penn still favors Vals and Sals that much. Dartmouth clearly still does that.
@hou2019, you can’t dissect Ivy admission standards that way. Just focus on the ones that have the best fit as there are “fit” distinctions throughout the Ivies, just as there are amongst all of the top-20 universities and LAC’s. And no, an Ivy isn’t any more of a golden ticket than Chicago or MIT or Harvey Mudd or Swarthmore - go with what will make you thrive.
“Several years ago” may not do it, as the number of apps increases annually and expectations rise.
Again, the fact a college had x% of some factor admitted (or matriculated) tells nothing about criteria. If a college reports x% from public hs, does it mean you have an advantage coming from a public hs? No.
Remember, with single digit acceptance rates, these colleges cherry pick, in the end. They can’t justify taking any Val or Sal who doesn’t pass their holistic muster.
Look at Brown. Why do you think they rejected 81% of vals? Can’t be they were 3rd in their class, lol.
Nope, and I bet 3rd’s in their class were accepted when Vals were not - all of the top schools dive way deeper than that salutation.
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.
@hou2019 - It is impossible to build the rigor you’re suggesting, and would actually cause more problems for admissions officers than it would solve.
If you can target a school or two, meet with folks either on campus or during their visits to your school / area, they would actually have a chance to know you BEFORE they have your data. I will tell you that I’ve seen the “good” kids I know do really well getting into the school they wanted, while kids with much better stats have struggled.
Being first or second in your class is something schools would use to break a tie…not something they would apply to exclude students on a first read. You should believe that admission officers are looking for things to “sell” on your behalf, not weakness.
That is not part of the initial screen as Dartmouth already said that only 25% of Accepted Students provided a class rank.
Meant your determination of “fit”, not the schools as you have to want to learn and live there.
Not every near perfect ACT/SAT student has interest in attending an Ivy university so they may instead chose to attend MIT, Cal Tech, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Northwestern, etc. or a top-LAC - the top-25% ACT/SAT scores are exactly the same.
OP, we could ask you back, “How do you know that for sure?” You’ve implied you have yet to apply. Wanna confirm your year and offer your stats?
You realize you’re arguing speculation against adults who’ve been at this a while?