<p>As an alumnus and with one child also an alum of UIUC, I am pretty sure that they DO look at class rank. If you look at the bottom of the link below, you can see the direct anti-correlation between test scores and class rank. The higher the class rank, the lower the threshold for ACT and SAT scores. Even if it is not a specific criterion, class rank is an excellent indicator of a student’s performance in high school and how much he/she took a challenging curriculum.</p>
<p>[U</a> of I Admissions: Freshman Admission Requirements](<a href=“Page Not Found, Illinois Undergraduate Admissions”>Page Not Found, Illinois Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>UIUC is a state university and has to serve all the high schools in Illinois. Clearly there are large variations in quality between inner city High Schools in Chicago and those in the suburbs, the class rank is a way of making sure that the best student from all High Schools can be admitted.</p>