<p>@2018RiceParent I’d say a good portion is the schools’ fault for not designing reasonable class rank policies. My school made it a point to only weight 4 core courses (so as not to encourage taking AP Art just to inflate rank) and provide Honors level in all 4 core courses every year. Not only did that expand the size of our Top 7% (probably going down to 6% soon as the 75-25 rule changes) but it made it class rank less stressful without destroying the useful measure. </p>
<p>Also, I heard that if you apply without submitting a rank, UT reranks you based on the entire state- which favors top quarter kids at competitive schools who didn’t make top 7% or 10%.</p>