The difference between 8th and 10th is only one point. Probably most high school students don't realize that the rankings aren't super precise, but the difference of one point is negligible. But I'll admit that I'm still annoyed that they dropped us in the rankings.
As much as we say we don't care, I honestly think it does have a
slight effect on perception and how many high school students apply. I felt comfortable in the 4th-8th range...
especially since I chose Duke over UPenn and Columbia in 2003 when Duke was tied with Penn at 4th and Columbia was 10. I just like being tied or above Penn, haha.