<p>For instance, Notre Dame, which heavily weighs class rank. If I were say, in the top 50% as opposed to the average applicant who, on average, was in the top 4 % of his class, would that mean I have no chance? Some schools are extraordinarily competitive, especially private institutions. If I had a good gpa and great test scores, would class rank keep me from achieving acceptance? That seems far from a fair way to judge an applicant, especially if that applicant has an extraordinarily rigorous course schedule.</p>
<p>Top 50% is not so good. You want to be in the top 20%. Do you go to an extremely competitive school? If so, it's probably forgivable.</p>
<p>If this is a feeder school to top colleges then a low class rank should not hurt you. A low class rank at an average HS probably will.</p>
<p>Some colleges don't look at class rank for some high schools. For example, I know a high school that has a large number of students with perfect GPAs (they have a lottery to choose a valedictorian) and a large number of students with near-perfect GPAs. Most of these students have no social skills, as their lives are dedicated to school and they aren't allowed by their parents to socialize. Colleges that recognize this not only don't use class rank from this school, but also note the social aspect when deciding whom to admit.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the replies, you have no idea how helpful these are to me!</p>