<p>I’m not sure if top 5% ~ valedictorian (except for top privates), but I think top 1-2% at a regionally competitive public or better is pretty much what you need for rank at HYP. But yeah, because Princeton probably shaves pluses and minuses off of final grades when they recalculate GPA, a high rank is important in distinguishing from what will certainly be a plethora of 4.0’s.</p>