<p>I would hate it if our teachers chose the Valedictorian. That seems like the worst possible way to do it.</p>
<p>At my school, everyone with a 4.0, regardless of difficulty of classes, is a Valedictorian. This year, we had 12 (usually its more like 6). But then they have to pick the two top students in the class to get a $9,000 scholarship to Wisconsin Colleges. They just do that straight-up by ACT scores, and if any student doesn’t go to school in Wisconsin (like me) they pick the next best ACT score for the scholarship.</p>
<p>I feel like this is the best way for a non-prestigious school to do it, and while it might not work at a larger school, it works great at mine.</p>
<p>Well, the val ends up being the “model” student anyways - like I said, it is voted upon by teachers, but the pool of students up for vote are the ones who have the top GPAs, top ECs, etc. </p>
<p>I dont mind it personally, I dont like how some schools just take the top student, seems like its a forced honour, even though its an honour nonetheless</p>
<p>Someone ranked somewhere between like 10 and 20 out of about 500 got into both Harvard and Yale (only one in the class to get into either and double legacy at Harvard). Sixth got into UChicago and Wesleyan. Fifth got into Stanford and maybe some other places, not sure. Fourth got into WashU ED. Third got into Penn, Dartmouth, and Columbia, going to Penn. Second got into MIT, Vanderbilt, and Penn, going to MIT. First (me) got in nowhere. Fail. Not sure about anyone else.</p>
<p>You have to take at least like 16 AP classes to get into the top 5 at my school. Valedictorian normally takes around 20, I think.</p>
<p>Its really a moot point. Nobody chooses to take only the SAT. Its really rare for people to take the SAT in the first place around here. I live in northern Wisconsin, of the twelve Valedictorians, I’m the only one going to a state Wisconsin doesn’t border. If I hadn’t got into one of HYPS or Columbia, I would have ended up going to UMinnesota too.</p>
<p>If someone had only taken the SAT, they would have to take the ACT to qualify for that scholarship. But there’s no possibility for someone to take the SAT and not the ACT. Its just not the culture.</p>
<p>I’m not going to read this thread, because it will make me sad, but as a personal anecdote I was ranked 17 in my class out of ~330 and was the only one to get into Yale. Also, our #18 was the only one to get into Harvard.</p>
<p>You don’t need to worry about GPA as much if you’re awesome.</p>
<p>Our “val” (not really official) was accepted ED to Cornell,
But bunches of other top 10 people applied to Yale and were rejected.
I was barely top 10%</p>
<p>just wanna report a really funny story. So like this year we had a science club and this one kid (pretty popular) comes up for election day pretty late in the meeting (assuming he would be elected for prez; although he did not show up for meetings, or even attended the competition). It took him 10 minutes to realize though that the prez had already been chosen. When he did finally learn this truth, he simply walked out when the new prez started discussing the board and electing ppl (showing that he only wanted to be number one and since he wasn’t, he didn’t want to be number 2). I get a little annoyed by these types of people b/c they don’t have even the tiny bit of shame in stealing someone else’s hard work. By the way, he is a top 10 ranked individual. I on the other hand did work hard for the club but was not elected at all b/c of the popularity and favor deal (pretty sad huh?). </p>
<p>I felt pretty sad but I didn’t do anything b/c i’m pretty timid and I never really stand up for myself b/c of politeness. But I hope that some val and top ranked individuals realize how much they kindda hog other ppl’s opportunities when they really don’t deserve it. When an interview does come around for college, they study tiny and impressive facts that they never really committed themselves to learning about the clubs where they hold a position. And guess what? They actually get into their choice of school.
This happens in every school and the number one thing to do when you don’t get a board position is to lead your own path and come out number one in your work. Board position do matter but they aren’t the end all be all. Just be clever and mindful of your own opportunity in the next occassion. Not every Valedictorian gets into Ivies and that just shows how extensive colleges dig up on them to see whether they are truly committing. BE POSITIVE =)</p>
<p>You had a pretty positive post, hoppingbunny, and I agree with most of what you said. I’m sorry that favoritism decides many of the leadership positions at your school. It doesn’t at mine. However, </p>
<p>“But I hope that some val and top ranked individuals realize how much they kindda hog other ppl’s opportunities when they really don’t deserve it. When an interview does come around for college, they study tiny and impressive facts that they never really committed themselves to learning about the clubs where they hold a position. And guess what? They actually get into their choice of school.” </p>
<p>may be true for your top-ranked individuals, but it isn’t for all of them, or even most of them. Most top-ranked individuals work hard for their opportunities.</p>
<p>i agree, but sometimes when vals or top tens try to impress colleges, they think that getting in in all the prestigious clubs and holding a position would greatly aid them in this task. True that it doesn’t happen in every school, but you have to agree that even in a school that seems so fair and everything, favoritism does play a role. There is always a chance that this could happen and it does sometimes.</p>