<p>Hey,</p>
<p>So I was talking with my dad that all I have to do is keep my grades up, and I will be Valedictorian. He told me "while that is great, because my HS is not as competitive on the whole, only in the IB/AP/ College courses, it probably won't mean much in admissions."</p>
<p>How much does being Valedictorian or Salutatorian help in admissions, if at all?</p>
<p>Your dad is right. Not at all. Val and Sal aren’t declared until graduation. By that point you’ve already been accepted to schools.</p>
<p>BUT… class rank is important. So being NEAR the top is important for top schools. AND… some colleges do give a small scholarship for valedictorian (think $1000 per year). Also…it makes you “standout”. It’s an award. So…OBVIOUSLY…it’s a desirable thing. </p>
<p>But, that ALONE might not mean THAT much to many top colleges. And of course, as you said, it does depend on the competitiveness of your school. That said, does your school have any procedures whereby they nominate students for scholarships? For instance, I live in Indiana. Each high school is allowed to nominate only TWO students for a full ride scholarship at Indiana University (Wells Scholars). I’m certain Guidance/Administration will be nominating the top students/those with the most promise of getting the award. Now that might not necessarily be the valedictorian. But I’ll bet that’s where they start looking. </p>
<p>Good luck to you. Just keep up the good work and be proud of it and it will all work out well.</p>