Speaking of class rankings, this is pretty lame (go competitiveness :/ ): At the end of freshman year (living in Cali), with straight A's (8 classes, only one of which was honors) I was 5 out of like 300.
I move to NC, my class rank goes down to about 30/300. I could've easily made valedictorian at my old high school, but at my "new" school I didn't even graduate in the top ten percent (although VERY close)--with almost all A's except for one stupid B in an honors class and a 4.25 GPA! What the dukar is up with that? (My final rank was 36/333; 10.81%; I only know this because I very recently needed my transcript.)
I like to be a "big fish in a small pond," I suppose, surrounded by underachievers to make my rank higher. Maybe I don't like having to deal with competition?
On another note, I took the route of going to a community college first, then transfering to a university. I'm glad I did, because I knew I would NOT have been ready for "university life"--not to mention it's a heck of a lot cheaper for the same exact courses. The downside is they may not provide as many options as you'd like (i.e. only offer Spanish and French as foreign languages; my HS had more options than that!). Another downside is when they advise you incorrectly and you have to worry about whether a class will transfer or you'll basically have to take it over. :/
Even university-wise, I think I have a good deal; assuming I'm accepted (which I was told I would have no problems with), which I'll find out this month, I'll be attending University of North Carolina, which is supposedly either the best or fifth best "bargain" college (best education for an excellent price) in the US. Plus I learned they have the best psychology program (my major/field of interest) in the state. So I'm excited, but that belongs in the other thread.
I don't think an Ivy League school is any better. They're pretty much filled with elitists, anyway. (I'm generalizing, sorry.) The only advantage I see is what Suffix said--it gets you more attention and possibly more clout, which is sad and shouldn't.