For All Those of You Ranked #1 (or close)

<p>How do you be number 1? Stop caring about it.</p>

<p>To be completely honest, my class was LAZY! I was ranked 5/158 after junior year....and I only got a c+ in calc and had a 94 gpa! Lol...#1's gpa was only a couple tenths higher. Nobody - and i mean NOBODY in my school studied. To avoid hwk there was a lot of copying people's work and passing binders down from year to year, and classes weren't too hard.</p>

<p>Just keep getting As. It's not too difficult to plan out, but the implementation can be difficult depending on where you go.</p>

<p>If your lifelong dream is to be valedictorian though, why don't you go to a really easy school and dominate?</p>

<p>All smart people copy off smart people. Then the not-so-smart people copy off the smart people. And then one of the smart people actually do their work, and the process is repeated. Circle of Life.</p>

<p>lol extemporaneous is pretty close to the truth.</p>

<p>I'm number one because I can operate fine on 2 to 4 hours of sleep a night</p>

<p>Here's what bothers me though... i keep seeing ppl on these forums telling smart kids not to take electives so their gpa will be higher. i think this is stupid stupid stupid. they consider any class that isnt honors or AP an elective! at my school, (junior yr) I took 2 AP and 2 Honors and that was the most rigorous schedule of anyone in our year. i got all As, i'm number one. next year, the school switches to 7 periods, with the option of study hall instead of an elective class. i'm taking drama. Colleges WANT to see that you are taking the most rigorous schedule possible, so if you "play by the rules" or whatever just to get a higher gpa, they don't like that as much as your high school ranking would make it seem. The college sees your transcript and knows when you had a chance to take more classes than you did. Take advantage of as many courses your school offers as you can</p>

<p>The valedictorian in our school is the perfect stereotypical high school valedictorian. (she's even a cheerleader!) she is dedicated to her schoolwork, and is very intelligent (note i used the word intelligent, not smart. there's a difference. i think...) I'd say she's as smart or smarter than I am, but the number one reason she's valedictorian at my school, and not anybody else, is her dedication. you can count your credits and cheat the system all you want, but it's hard work that gets the A. If you're not willing to do that, dont bother trying to be valedictorian.</p>

<p>since when has the stereotypical high school valedictorian been a CheerLeader??</p>

<p>not to be rude, but I just can't see a cheerleader becoming valedictorian. seriously.</p>

<p>I would say just make sure you get an A in every class. AP's if your school weights.</p>

<p>I'm only going into freshman year, but here's my advice anyways. Check the graduation requirements. In our district we have a lot of crap like PE, health, communication courses, etc loaded on there. Since, V is determined by weighted GPA (.5 for honors and 1 for AP), regular courses like the ones listed above would hurt my chances. I know for a fact if I didn't find some way to get rid of them, it would kill be chances of being top 10 or anything close. Ask your GC about no-GPA alternatives, and don't just stop there. Ask teachers, friends, older classmates, etc. You'd be surprised at what the GC's DON'T know.</p>

<p>she has a 4.7 weighted gpa.</p>

<p>^ she also had a 2260 SAT.</p>

<p>i am not of course insulting her intelligence, being a Val and cheerleader is great. it just isn't stereotypical... that would probably be the nerd who spends all day studying (stereotype)</p>

<p>hmmm... if you can function on about 2 to 4 hours a sleep a night like i had to, you're well on your way! :) ... haha no but really, pay attention in class so that you don't have to waste time out of class trying to relearn something that the class went over while you were doing something else ...study at home... do your homework... take honors/AP classes in subjects that interest you because if you just take tons of them for the weighted credit (in subjects that you don't enjoy or are not particularly good at) then you will most likely be miserable... i tried taking AP us history (im really only a math/science person) during my sophmore year (and honestly, i only did this for the credit) but after two weeks i was sooo upset and frustrated that i ended up dropping the class for an honors versions of a different social science... it wasnt the end of the world and i still graduated as val... who knows what would have happened if i had tried to stay in that class... but good luck with your situation!</p>

<p>how do most school determine rank? I try to guess at my rank but it's too hard. Btw, how do you calculate your high school gpa? is it by semester? do you think if I have a C then my chance to be in top 10% is very slim?</p>

<p>Studying everyday in highschool is a joke. Go out and have fun.</p>

<p>GPA is by semester.</p>

<p>most schools determine rank by weighted GPA's. i know that where i live, they do it by semester; add all the grades up [like, for ex. A=6.0, B=5.0, for AP scales here], etc. etc. and then divide by X number of semesters so far.</p>

<p>its really just sad... b4 this summer i was number 2.... but i just got a B for the 2nd semester for ap physics and our school weigh HPA...... i dont know whats my rank now.... but... my advice is that... take classes that r somewhat challenging... like ap classes obviously... if u have time, go to some local colleges to take summer school classes but talk to ur school first and see if it counts. dont get urself crazy about rank.... cause once u do... u will end up like me...sad and desperate now - - i cant get myself out...
just do ur best</p>

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<p>Neither of which is impressive.</p>