<p>Apologies if someone else has mentioned this, but unfortunately USNWR counts the number of kids in the top 10% as one of their ranking factors. I don’t think people always know how much those rankings matter to admissions people. I was amazed that a top ten LAC put on the front of their web page that they had moved up a notch! </p>
<p>Being in the top 11% doesn’t help them. My colleagues tell me this is why a school would - other things being equal, such as SATs and GPA - take a top 10% from a public over a middle- of-the-pack from a private. Top 10% is the gold standard. My own experience bears this out. Your mileage may vary, of course, and there are always anecdotes, exceptions that prove the rule, etc.</p>