institution. Maybe a 4.2 at one school is the very best because of how hard the classes are and how they work the GPAs in that state differs a bit from others. At another school there may be 20 students that get a 4.2 GPA. To me one is a much better achievement.

Ranking students is very important in that regard. If you are first you are the best regardless of what your GPA says and should be considered as such.