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No answer on a different forum category, so I thought I'd try here:
How important is actual rank for the top students with regard to merit aid? In our school, there are so many students, so close to each other in the upper tier, that it will make an interesting end of the year. Because of grade weighting, some students will fall behind when they finally take required gym courses (pulling their rank down), and others will rise (when AP credit is applied). Final rank at the end of the year might not even resemble current positions, which is what the colleges see at the time of applications. My guess is that the difference between being in the top 2% or top 5% is probably not a big deal for admissions, especially when everything else is looked at (test scores, EC’s, etc). But it could make a significant difference if scholarship money is reserved for those in the #1 or #2 slots, or for those who fall in a defined top percentage. Is that often the case? Is there a lot of merit aid reserved for the top 1-2% only (for which a student in the top 5% would not be eligible strictly because of the ranking)? For those students whose rank will probably rise at the end of the year, is it worth pointing out on scholarship applications, or is this just a typical scenario the schools are used to seeing?