Our school gets one or more students into Harvard every year. I can’t think of the last time when it was a valedictorian that was admitted.
In our school, the valedictorian tends to be GPA focused over everything else. In contrast, the students a few ranks below may have excellent ECs that win admission to one or more HYPSM colleges.
Where does your val typically end up?
Typically somewhere like Wash U or Cornell.
I find this generalization disturbing, the fact that the valedictorian is merely GPA focused. The primary purpose of high schools is to impart education, with leadership potential being a personal attribute. If colleges are attempting to train future leaders, high schools shouldn’t be celebrating academic excellence. Get rid of class rank so that the best student isn’t seen through such biased one-dimensional lense. This appearance as if high achieving students are of weak character is a total fallacy, driven by GPA alone. They are pursuing the most difficult curriculum and excelling at it. Soon enough, economy will become efficient and recognize student excellence as about academic excellence, as companies won’t have to re-teach the foundational knowledge. Instead they will invite these students to build on their knowledge base by furthering their disciplines & science.
Having said all this, I do recognize that most top students (my kids included) land up at state flagships with merit scholarships. It’s an unfortunate reality, even lower tier (T20) schools reject these students to “protect yield” or to “predict yield”.
I’m really hoping that this thread focuses on the OP and not continue with off-topic meanderings
yes he does.
Harvard looks for the best of the best so your rank will not make it except if you have crazy other credentials. Imagine out of a class of 500, it would have been 18th out of 500 students. Great, but not Harvard-worthy.
There are multiple people on this thread who either went to Harvard or have a child who attended, and they disagree with you.
Adding a bit of further texture.
There are multiple people on this thread who either went to Harvard and who were not HS valedictorians or have a child who was not a val who attended, and they disagree with you.
This is absolutely not true. Harvard looks at many factors. Being 3rd in a class of 85 would not be considered much different from first in a class of 85. There are so many other things that Harvard (or any highly selective school) would also look at, but being in the top 5% of a class, with having taken the most rigorous classes available, would be considered just fine for even the most selective colleges.
@Ausername321 Harvard does not use class rank when considering admissions. So where does this comment come from?
Agree. My C’s public HS doesn’t rank. Graduating class of ~1200. 6 went to Harvard. My C, got 2 Bs and also took a couple of non weighted courses, they liked (Journalism and Con Law) that “lowered” their weighted GPA.
They would have been near the top, but not 1 or even 2. GPA, like everything else can be gamed by taking easier, but still Honors or AP, courses.
This graphic from the New York Times shows the two primary ways that the Academic Index was computed until the current SAT/ACT-optional/no SAT Subject Tests period. Class rank played no role.
UPDATE: It’s been 7 months since I posted this. I appreciate all the insight especially those of parents. Neither of my parents went to college and hearing this advice has been useful. Since then, I have attended the Harvard Secondary School Program this summer with a full ride! I took Astronomy and Politics receiving A’s in both courses.
I took everyone’s advice and I am now striving for another school: UT Austin. I feel as if I match as I am qualified for automatic admission and I actually bumped up my ACT score. I am focusing on applying to as many scholarships as possible and focusing on my future degree, Government.
Don’t worry y’all! I still want to go to Harvard, but for Law School. Being in the SSP this summer fulfilled my dream to be a Harvard student, but it also opened my eyes to more options. And I got to live on campus and received Harvard credit. To Austin we go!
Hook 'em Horns!!
Once again, thank you all. 
