<p>Now, another student, from let’s say, Tufts, Northwestern, or even Brown, applies to this same school. They graduated in the top 12%, but not the top 10%. The person from any of the three aforementioned schools above will have the edge of the person who went to UT, simply because they are “better quality students” for going to a top 20 school.</p>
<p>From where do you derive this observation? Do you work in graduate admissions, are you a professor on an admissions committee? Even if you are, how do you know your observation extends to other schools and programs? Do you discuss this with other graduate school committees?</p>
<p>Like Sephiroth said, it doesn’t make sense to turn down a top 10% applicant for a top 12% simply based on where they chose to go to undergrad, especially since applicants are rarely equal in every other category besides school choice. Going to a less highly-ranked undergraduate does not mean that a particular candidate couldn’t <em>get in</em> to a more highly ranked school, nor does it mean that he or she wouldn’t have been just as successful at a top school. Maybe he or she could not afford the more expensive school, got an offer they couldn’t pass up, or just didn’t like the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Furthermore, you say it like it’s a general blanket truth when really graduate admissions are complicated than that. If the UT-Austin kid has 5 years of experience in a managerial position at a great firm and the Brown kid is applying straight from undergrad, he or she will almost certainly get admitted. Besides, percentages are school-based, and they are rarely used in admissions - most college graduates don’t even know where they rank in their college’s class. Perhaps that top 10% at UT-Austin means a 3.85 whereas the top 12% at Brown means a 3.65 or something.</p>
<p>The way you talk about percentages and make blanket statements about a complex process makes me think that you are a high schooler, and given that you’re listed as being 16 years old, I’m going to say that’s a solid assumption.</p>