I go to the number 1 school in california. It is very competitive. With a semi-high GPA (mid 4.0), will this help my collage applications?
Yes. Colleges look for course rigor and also look at overall rigor/quality of the high school. A high gpa from a very competitive high school would be considered better than a high gpa from a mediocre one.
It will look good, but don’t rely on it getting you in over ECs.
Sure, you’re in the top school in California, but every other state has a top school in their state too. Factor in however many kids in the graduating class have a 3.8-4++ and suddenly… you’ve got thousands of students just like yourself.
It is an impressive accomplishment, however. Keep up the hard work!