<p>I do not disagree that the GPA is an issue. However, the class ranking stuff is really unreliable. Please note that many competitive HS started to NOT report class ranking out of fear of disadvantaging their students. When you read fine prints, in many cases, only a portion of the admitted/enrollled students reported their class ranking. I recall that in top private schools, it was very common to see only 1/3 of the admitted students submitting class ranking. I seem to recall that roughly half of the GWU admitted students reported class ranking. I am not sure though - I don’t recall exactly. </p>
<p>In my S2’s high school, parents can choose NOT to have the class ranking reported. You can bet that only those students who are ranked high will choose to have the class ranking reported on their transcript. It is also very probable that in “uncompetitive” (read: not as high performing) high schools, the school administrator will make sure to include class ranking number as a way to boost the stats for their top students who may still score considerably low on standardized tests - comparatively speaking - compared with students from competitive public and private schools. </p>
<p>Any way, unlike SAT or ACT, class ranking stats are grossly exaggerated.</p>