<p>Even though I have no data to rely upon, I’ll take a guess, to try to summarize. Don’t rely upon this too much. If you go to a less competitive high school (such as an inner city or rural high school), you may need to be in the top 3% to be competitive. If you go to a very competitive high school, the top 20% may be more appropriate. If you go to the average suburban public high school, top 10% may be the aim to be competitive. One person told me that everyone he knew who was accepted to UVa last year from an Albemarle County high school, for example, was in the top 10%.</p>