I do not know for sure. My point is that nobody is sure. I am just researching the colleges to build a list now. And I am sharing my findings with CC to get feedback.
I think it only reasonable to assume that there will be some criteria - minimal requirements so to speak as the first round of the application process. For instance, if somebody has SAT of 1000 out of 1600, why should I take him seriously? I will look for some confirmation that he is not worth my time and dismiss him promptly. Class rank is just another requirement similar to SAT. Some colleges value class ranks more so they want higher ranks. Am I completely wrong on this?
I would not even worry about Ivees if I am not in the top 10% But I am not Val/Sal. My stats is above 75% of most measures of any Ivey, which means nothing as everyone here is correctly saying - because other things like EC or “fit” matter more once you are seriously considered. I just want to avoid those colleges that value ranks way more than others that will kick me out of the first round.
@hou2019, if you are an unhooked applicant and you are at/above the top-25%, you have a 90-95% chance of being Denied at everyone - it seems that you are struggling with this as it appears that you are trying to engineer a better outcome. Every one is rooting you on, but that’s reality.
Just determine which ones you feel are the best fit for you from a size, location, environment, and vibe perspective - there is nothing you can do about how any of these schools will view you as a fit.
I’m sorry, I just couldn’t read through the whole thread, so I apologize if I’m repeating something someone else said.
FIRST and most important: Val and Sal are not determined until well after acceptances are out. Nobody gets to say that they’re valedictorian on their application. So there goes the OP’s whole theory right there.
Second, the OP is confusing cause and effect. Is it likely that Dartmouth has a strong preference for people who are number 1 in their class as of December of their senior year (or possibly the end of their junior year, I don’t know how often high schools recalculate) vs people who are, say, number 3 or number 5? Think it through. Why should they? They know that at many schools, those people will be very close. Their GPA’s may only differ by hundredths of points. The difference between a 4.21 and a 4.23 is no more interesting or informative than the difference between a 790 and an 800. Lots of vals will be rejected, just as lots of people with 1600 SAT’s will be rejected. The person who is number 3 at application time may be 1 or 2 at graduation. Dartmouth would have a very hard time selecting for vals and sals. So, does Dartmouth have a lot of vals and sals because they select for them specifically? No. Dartmouth, which admits holistically, seeks out many different factors, among which are high grades. A school with very competitive admissions with lots of applicants with very high grades will, AS A RESULT, find itself admitting lots of vals and sals. Then, they use those numbers for marketing purposes. They don’t have to select for them, they naturally get them.
Third, schools say class rank is important because they want to see that you are doing very well against your most immediate peers, to the extent the information is available. It’s not the same thing as saying they care whether you’re 1st or 4th in a class of 300.
I am in the elimination phase. I look at each college on my list, read its admission stats, read CC, ratemyprofessor, and ■■■■■■■■■, I am trying to get rid of those schools that are unlikely to admit me. For instance, I know Dartmouth publishes the Val/Sal data in their admission press release and brags about it, which raises a red flag. Swarthmore also brags about how many of their admits are in the top 2 %…
I am in the elimination phase. I look at each college on my list, read its admission stats, read CC, ratemyprofessor, and ■■■■■■■■■, I am trying to get rid of those schools that are unlikely to admit me. For instance, I know Dartmouth publishes the Val/Sal data in their admission press release and brags about it, which raises a red flag. Swarthmore also brags about how many of their admits are in the top 2 %…
Consider test score distributions. Scores >= 1400 on the new SAT apparently place you in the top 4% of SAT test-takers (who represent only ~half of all PSAT test-takers). Most Ivy/peer students seem to have scores in this range, presumably with commensurate GPAs and class rank. So perhaps it’s reasonable to assume that a majority of students at many Ivy/peer schools ranked within the top ~2% of their HS classes. That would translate to many Vals/Sals at small to mid-sized high schools.
As long as a college request class rank information, I think one has to assume it’s an important factor. I wouldn’t leap to the conclusion that Val/Sal status is necessary (or sufficient) for unhooked students at any of these schools … but I do think that rank outside the T10% (maybe even outside T5% at some places) makes admission rather unlikely.
But I am not Val/Sal. My stats is above 75% of most measures of any Ivey, which means nothing as everyone here is correctly saying - because other things like EC or “fit” matter more once you are seriously considered. I just want to avoid those colleges that value ranks way more than others that will kick me out of the first round.