<p>Hi, I am currently a junior in a competitive high school in FLorida. My school does not rank (at least not publicly) save for the valedictorian and the salutatorian. As a result, I do not know exactly where I stand in my class but it is probably somewhere around 1-4/300. (I may actually be #1 at the present time but a lot of people are inflating their GPAs this year with "fluff" AP courses, so I do not know if I can maintain that.) My weighted GPA is a 5.74, with an UW GPa of around a 4.45 (my school uses A+ and A-). Is it worth it to aim for the number one spot in my class, because I have heard that it helps with admission into highly selective colleges. Please Help!!!!</p>
<p>Lots of schools don't rank. Your GPA stats are great. You will be in the top 2% of your class. I don't think it will matter if you have the official label or not. Admission committees will be able to see your strength. That being said, you want to have as strong a first semester as you can, regardless of whether or not you end up being #1 or not. Do the best that you can and you will benefit either way.</p>
<p>Is unweighted out of 5.0?</p>
<p>Anyway, it will not hurt you if you are val/sal and it might hurt you if you aren't in your situation... but it won't be that big of a deal because most applicants are val or sal.</p>
<p>If you come from a competitive school (which you said you do), the top few (5-10) students are probably all academically eligible and it won't matter if you're not Val or Sal. If you come from a lax school system, Val and Sal will probably give you a slight boost compared to others in your class.</p>
<p>duh, Of course it helps :) Is it worth to maintain your lead for a Gold medal? Would you rather settle for anything less than Gold? No, your already among the top, just keep going at it and try your best. Whatever happens, happens.</p>
<p>If you do get Val or Sal, this information wouldn't be available to colleges when you apply, correct? As I understand it, these awards come after graduation, long after you will have applied.</p>
<p>If I'm wrong, and colleges will know: it will help, but it won't make or break you. Your grades are great. Keep up the great work and you'll be fine.</p>
<p>If your only goal is to be val/sal and you climb over everyone to get there, bicker with teachers to gain every point possible and pad your schedule with fluff courses (or study halls), then this could hurt you in the long run. </p>
<p>OTOH, if you do your best academically, work hard for your grades but not to exclusion of everyone and everything else and show as much enthusiasm/passion for non-academic interests, then obtaining a top rank will certainly help. Just don't be afraid to be you - to follow your dreams/passions - even if it means you drop a place or two in the rankings. HS (and college) should be a time to explore and discover who you are and what makes you tick.</p>
<p>Academic accomplishments shows drive, determination, sacrifice and hard work. Those attributes are also seen in top athletes, musicians, artists, etc. To be competitive for top schools you need top academic stats to show that you can handle the work but I believe they want more than that - they want "interesting people." So, those applicants who combine top academic strengths with great achievement or interest in other areas stand out. These students will wind up with the heartfelt and meaningful teacher recs.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice!!!</p>
<p>just try your best. although the title doesn't help you a lot, colleges will see you first if you are val/sal. my friend told me to get val and some colleges will let me in :)</p>
<p>To put it in perspective, there are over 20,000 high schools in America. That means 20,000 Val and 20,000 Sal's. College's like to brag about this, but the really competitive ones are looking for something more. Distinguish yourself on more than just the local, school or community level and you have a much better shot at the very top schools.</p>
<p>An interesting fact I learned on a visit to UGA - The University of Georgia guarantees admission to the valedictorian of each public high school in Georgia. Check to see if the schools you want have a similar policy.</p>
<p>Our school only ranks val and sal, but they have a gpa distribution bar graph, so colleges can approximate your rank.</p>
<p>I was just curious,, considering my rather tenuous grasp of a B in AP English, lol.</p>
<p>puma0414, my son got a B in AP English and was still accepted to the two Ivies he was interested in. Don't obsess about one class. Just do your best.</p>
<p>It helps quite a bit.</p>
<p>If you're in the top 5%, I really doubt colleges care any more about rank. For all they know, you challenged yourself with AP Physics while #1 took something much easier like Honors Physical Science (and if your school is anything like mine, you get the same GPA weighting for those classes). You might have been ASB president and a two letter varsity sports member while #2 went home at 3:00 each day.</p>
<p>Your ranking at the end of Junior year is the only one colleges will see, so being Valedictorian in May or June (after acceptances/rejections have been sent) has no impact at all. For students who choose a "gap" year, they would be able to list that status on their application.</p>
<p>Yeah, well at this rate that grade can't really go anywhere........anyone else have thoughts?</p>
<p>bumppppppp</p>
<p>...........</p>