<p>My general rule:</p>
<p>Schools ranked 1-25 on US News will have stats approx 3.8/35</p>
<p>Schools ranked from 25-45 will have stats approx 3.7/32</p>
<p>Schools ranked below that will be around 3.6/30</p>
<p>Obviously, there are exceptions to this and low-tier state schools in general can be far easier than low tier private schools to get into for in-state residents.</p>
<p>As someone who looks to be a middle of the road applicant, he should be applying within all 3 categories (maybe 2-3 top tier, 10 mid-tier, and a few low tier schools).</p>