wild_desperado
How do most of the colleges convert the percentage system normally used in Indian schools into 4 point grades? Is it disadvantageous for the Indian applicants? I was looking through application form of Columbia Business school and the method used for conversion to 4 point grade system is certainly disadvantageous.
Do colleges consider the relative performance of a candidate in his\her application? Should essays also cover this aspect of the application?
If the school doesn't ask you to convert your GPA, don't. For Columbia, you have to follow their system. If you ranked highly in your class, tell them so. They do consider it, but I would try to include this information in the boxes or as a minor point in the essay. Try not to use a whole essay to say that you really did well as an undergrad.
Good luck!