I am a freshmen in high school and I am ranked 10/1252 kids. Does being Valedictorian help gain some brownie points from the admissions office at Yale? If so, can I still be in the running for this title? The reason I ask this is because my teacher today had said something that I took to heart. It was 7th period and I had asked how they would calculate and determine who’s valedictorian and she simply replied by saying, "Usually people who become valedictorian don’t screw up in their first year of high school. Idk what she was trying to convey but it made me feel sad that I had a 4.4 and missed my chance at getting into the computer science elective class at my school which could have raised my gpa to the highest being 4.7. Everyone who is currently tied for first place has a 4.7. I don’t know what to do 
No. Yale, and other colleges with low acceptance rates do reject candidates that are valedictorians with 4.0/2400, while accepting other applicants with less stellar stats.
Valedictorian once meant something. It no longer does.
I have heard of kids not taking music classes because they’re not weighted, and would drop them in the rankings. That’s the GPA-tail wagging the education-dog.
Have a rigorous and dense (in the good sense of the word) HS experience. Don’t become a victim of Val chasing. Good colleges don’t care – if nothing else, there are too many Vals to have it mean anything. One HS had 44 of them in one year.
So what your saying is I should take classes I am interested in even if they aren’t Pre Ap? 
When one is applying to college in the fall of senior year the valedictorian has not been designated. If you’re Yale material you would have figured that out. A 4.4 freshman year isn’t screwing up. Don’t be a GPA drudge. I’m sure they would rather see intellectual curiosity and creativity rather than rote accumulation of high grades.
Sort of, but don’t be interested only in non-rigorous subjects 
Challenge yourself, especially in those areas that interest you.
Okay! thank you guys so much for your responses. At my high school, the guidance counselors don’t really “look” after us. Every time I talk to them about my four year plan they just tell me whatever. By the way, since Yale doesn’t have a requirement for taking a foreign language, should I just take computer science? Since it technically counts as a language credit…
You are trying to get into the Ivy League. My dad attended Harvard when most students were proficient with a modern language plus Latin and Greek. Obviously there were no computers then. Take three or four years of one foreign language. It’s fine that you a have your eye on Yale but realize that only about 5% of their applicants are admitted. Many people here call the Ivy League schools “lottery” schools. Look at their admission requirements but also look at the admission requirements of your state flagship and another school that might interest you. Guidance counselors at large high schools don’t seem to be very helpful. There is probably a predetermined program for an advanced or college prep diploma or IB diploma. Take one of those. You will probably only be able to take one or two electives per year with those programs. One should be foreign language. Find out now if your parents can pay $60k per year for college because in the end it is the cost that determines where you attend. Yale is one of the very best at meeting financial need if you do get in though. Don’t brag and obsess about Yale to your peers because you might have to eat a lot of crow senior year. Good luck.
My mom is a single mom who works 3 jobs just to put food on the table. I am relying on scholarships to even get into college. I will also be the first in my family to graduate high school.
- You need to make excellent grades in the most rigorous program available to you. As one recruiter said, they know all about local colleges and concurrent enrollment so don’t limit your education to the high school (probably mor for Senior Year).
- You need to follow your heart- if you wonder about something, track down resources relentlessly and immerse yourself in it. Take it big- city wide, state wide, or national.
- Maybe challenge yourself to enter and win competitions. There are competitions in everything. Not just math (AMC) and science bowl, or olympiad; every subject has competitions. Try to excel to compete at national levels
- Do a sport if you like. Play an instrument. Explore deeply.
- Look for mentors- look at the Questbridge website, and sign up in a couple of years.
- Look for more information-books, websites, etc.
If you wanted to, you could start a thread with your 4-year plan and a link to your high school course catalog. People would probably be very willing to advise you on your plan. You would need to explain your passions (art? science? psychology?)
I am very passionate about debate
@Maddie929 “My mom is a single mom who works 3 jobs just to put food on the table. I am relying on scholarships to even get into college. I will also be the first in my family to graduate high school.”.
If you do get into an Ivy you will probably get generous aid. Also state grants and Pell money if you go to an in state school.
With your family profile you ought to look up some of the prep schools mentioned on this forum, Exeter, Andover, etc. and look at their Summer Enrichment programs. It might be too late for this summer (I have not checked) but consider them. They are generous with aid. They are funnels into Ivies.
I didn’t even know about summer programs until now! Thank you guys so much.
It is not too late, @OspreyCV22. Excellent idea! I would target using no more than 1 month (i.e. Feb. 15) to produce and submit the application.
Can you explain more into depth on how these summer programs are funnels to ivies?
They have long-standing relationships with certain schools. As part of the summer programs, they offer college preparation workshops, visits with college reps (from ivies) or field trips to the ivies. I would not call them funnels to the ivies, but certainly they will provide a great orientation on what to consider in your high school career, and will give you access to people who live and breathe this business day and night, so you can get all your questions answered. You will be in a program with other striving high-achievers. Banish the word “funnel” and embrace the concept that the 5-week residential programs give you a focused concentration on college prep along with access to people who can help you put method behind the chaotic madness.
These are great experiences where you will learn a ton and make lifelong friends independent of all that.
I’m not so sold on these summer programs. And, the notion that they are “funnels” is a bit of a stretch. Lots of kids get in without them. Most of the prep school crowd tells my kids it’s extra hard to get into an Ivy from where they are.
Also consider summer camps offered by state universities for students in theirs states. My son attended the Young Scholar Program offered by Florida State University, which lasted six weeks. FSU paid for everything including room and board for all 40 students. My son absolutely loved the camp which consisted of classes and research. We found this by “googling” free camps, which is all we could afford.
Many of the kids that attended the camp got accepted to top schools, including my son who got accepted to Yale.
The most important thing is to do something you are passionate about, my son loved the idea of doing research in a real lab. At that time he was not even thinking about applying to Yale or any Ivy League.
OP should look into Questbridge. You are precisely the kind of student they are looking for. QB will give you guidance on applying to highly selective schools (Yale included) that meet 100% of your demonstrated need. QB isn’t any sort of guarantee that you’ll get in, but the benefits they provide throughout the college application process will be invaluable.
Two things: if you get into an Ivy League school, they are need blind and your economic status will be to your advantage. Second, I would suggest that you take languages, if available. All four years if possible. If your school does not have a language, then you can’t take it.
The bar is that you must take the most rigorous schedule that your school provides. That varies widely from school to school.