Sorry if this sounds obvious or if it’s been answered before, but does being ranked #1 REALLY REALLY help your chances? Some people say rank is important and some don’t and I’m not really sure. What if you shared the rank with, oh say, 3 or 4 other people? Do colleges even know if you share the rank or do you have to mention it? They look at the school’s stats though, right? Is it as good as a really good EC or a good essay?
<p>get the New Yorker Magazine and read its current article about Vals...really good information</p>
<p>it doesn't help that much, though it can't hurt. i'm pretty sure harvard rejects the majority of validictorian applicants. however, there are some public schools (and maybe even some lower tier private schools) that may give some scholarships to valedictorians.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure most apps ask how many people share a rank.</p>
<p>i saw that like 26% of those matriculating to Dartmouth were val? Perhaps it helps more depending on the school.</p>
<p>I'm confused...at my school valedictorian is picked at the end of senior year. So wouldn't it not even change your chances?</p>
<p>Some people put rank #1 down, even though it may still be "unofficial". Which is another reason why applications should be due after senior year but there is no time. I'm sure lots of people would have better chances after senior year. </p>
<p>I'm reading that article now, it's pretty long.. but I guess it does depend on the school. For Harvard it probably won't help, for Georgetown University though, 59% of applicants admitted were their school's valedictorian. It seems if you have a 1600, and high SAT II scores and were valedictorian, that seems to hurt your chances at those top schools. Admisssions are so crazy nowadays. I mean, some schools seem to even "brag" about how many 1600s/valedictorians they reject.</p>
<p>Being valedictorian certainly helps at most colleges except for HYPS. Even there, it might give you a slight edge but HYPS comes as close to a true lottery as they go.....no one knows why someone would get rejected. Yes, these schools do brag about how many valedictorians they have turned down. However, if you are a valedictorian with a 1600 SAT and you have applied to HYPS schools, chances are, unless you have really messed up your applications, or have no ECs, there is a very good chance of your acceptance at at least one of these colleges.
Although, as someone pointed out, it is hard to tell.</p>
<p>One should remember, there are 5000 colleges in this country, and only about 50 or so that are so selective. That should give perspective on the situation.</p>
<p>I cant get the link to the article working can someone else post it</p>
<p>OK so there seems to be some agreement that it really depends on the school, because liek to say, "look at our school, we are 2/3s vals" while others like to say "look at us, we reject most vals". So know lets figure out where it helps and where it hurts.</p>
<p>Sure, here's the link:
<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/050606fa_fact%5B/url%5D">http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/050606fa_fact</a></p>
<p>Okay well schools where it helps probably aren't located in the top 5. And I'm not really sure about the others, no one has a really clear idea where it might help. I suppose in those "less competitive" schools..but then again Georgetown has a 22% acception rate which isn't the best either. If anyone else has other ideas..please post..
I don't think there's a certain pattern, just check the schools you're applying to, to see what they favor, etc</p>
<p>thanks sarorah</p>
<p>Penn accepted 47% of valedictorians and 35% of salutatorians.
<a href="http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/profile.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/profile.php</a></p>
<p>Brown admitted 35% of valedictorians and 31% of salutatorians.
<a href="http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Admission/gettoknowus/factsandfigures.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Admission/gettoknowus/factsandfigures.html</a></p>
<p>The acceptance rate for valedictorians at these and similar schools is nearly DOUBLE the regular acceptance rate.</p>
<p>A place where I noticed being val mattering was the academic index calculator on this site. My daughter's index went from 8 to 7 depending on whether I put her in as 1 out of 350 or 2 out of 350. Not sure what difference that makes in the real world, but it seemed a rather dramatic change for the miniscule drop in rank.</p>
<p>Harvard brags that it rejects half of their 1600's applicants and 3/4 of their valedictorian applicants. (seems that they look at life as being half empty)</p>
<p>nice stats! got any more schools that tell that?</p>
<p>It well help a great deal at most schools. At the very top schools I think what warbslersrule says is correct, it's a major advantage but far from making you a shoo in.</p>