<p>Chances of kids being equal in all respects, to adcoms, are rare. Again, some are focusing on stats and what’s big news in the hs. The trip up is the rest of the app package. </p>
<p>It’s true that most tippy top colleges seem to admit mostly highly ranked kids. (I believe the usual stat is how many freshmen were in the top 10%.) But I think you’re looking through the wrong lens. It is not that rank guarantees or promotes. It is that these colleges have an applicant pool that is huge and fiercely competitive. Once you get past first round, the vast majority are 4.0, with a similar pattern of activities. You don’t filter based on rank, which, as noted, is an uneven playing field. You filter based on the rest of the story- most important, how the kid stretched, academically and including in and outside the neat little hs box, and the perspective he shows. And other things. </p>
<p>“Important” or “very important” does not mean “decisive.” You have to wrap your head around holistic.</p>