How much does class rank matter for Ivies and Top 20 schools?

ucbalumnus
Sun, 18 Jun 2023 22:50:57 +0000

Data10:

It’s important to note that only 36% of matriculating students at Swarthmore submitted rank, which seems high to me. I suspect the OP was asking about Ivies and T20 National USNWR colleges, rather than LACs. These generally have lower % submitting class rank than Swarthmore. For example, only 18% of matriculating students to Cornell submitted rank.

However, note that even in the absence of official class ranking from the high school, colleges ask counselors to rank the student on the counselor’s report.

The options are:

No basis

Below average

Average

Good (above average)

Very good (well above average)

Excellent (top 10%)

Outstanding (top 5%)

One of the top few encountered in my career

With a top 15% rank, unless there are subjective reasons for your counselor to see you more favorably over others of higher rank, the OP is likely to get only a “Very good” mark on that question about academic achievements.