I see that many of the top colleges want you to be in the top 10% of your class. I go to a really competitive school where there are 60 kids in my grade that are very smart. I am in the top 20% of my class at a decently competitive high school. Will colleges see that I come from a competitive school?
There are 60 kids total.
Colleges will know what type of school you come from- that sort of information is written in the School Report that your guidance counselor sends to colleges.
Does your school report rank on the transcript? Some competitive schools don’t since it hurts their students in admissions.
Colleges know what kind of school you went to, but at colleges where 90%+ are in the top 10%, an unhooked applicant outside the Top 10% will likely take a very significant hit, even if the high school is competitive.
If your school is really that competitive your HS GCs can tell you how much this will affect you based on past classes. It could be considered a feeder school to competitive colleges.