I currently attend High School A, which is a decent and diverse high school. I attended a very competitive middle school that had many students that cared a lot about school, but due to districting systems in my county, most students at my middle school attended High School B, an excellent and competitive high school. Although my current high school is not bad, the learning environment is different from both my middle school and High School B, and I miss the competitive environment and enthusiastic, motivated students my middle school offered. My family is currently considering moving to High School B. I think I would be happier as a student at High School B, but I am concerned that this is not the best decision because I have a very good chance of being valedictorian at High School A. Although I consistently receive straight A’s, the chance at High School B is still much, much lower (due to the amount of competition). Any opinions on what I should do?
Unless you live in a state that autoadmits to college based on class rank, my vote would be to go where you will be most challenged. It will better prepare you for the rigors of college.
@momofsenior1 Thank you for your feedback! However, although I do not attend High School B, based on what my friends attending High School B say, both schools are roughly equally challenging. The main difference is the students themselves, as there are fewer students with straight A’s at my high school and fewer students that care as much about grades, SAT scores, etc.
Summarizing your points of comparison:
- A and B "are roughly equally challenging" -- presumably you mean academically roughly equal in what they actually teach and offer.
- You prefer "the competitive environment and enthusiastic, motivated students" that you believe you will find more of at B.
- Grading is competitive or curved, or harsher at B, so that your GPA is likely to be lower at B ("Although I consistently receive straight A's, the chance at High School B is still much, much lower (due to the amount of competition).")
- Your class rank is likely to be lower at B due to more competitive students there.
The last two points suggest that you will be disadvantaged in college and scholarship applications if you move to B, without gaining any actual academic learning advantage due to the first point. Remember that in a more competitive environment, more strong competitors will lose.
The second point appears to be mainly a social one, unless you believe that you will be more academically motivated in a more competitive environment (despite worse GPA and rank outcomes).
@ucbalumnus Grading is not harsher at High School B (grading at both schools is equally harsh). Sorry, I probably should have phrased my sentence better. My class rank would likely be lower at High School B because there are more “straight A” students to compete with. My GPA would likely be the same at both schools. Based on my current grades and how I did in middle school compared to students currently attending High School B, I would likely still rank highly at High School B (at least top 10%, and probably top 5%), just valedictorian is much less likely. Would colleges take into account that one school is more competitive than the other? Based on your summary, it seems more logical to stay at my current school, but I would prefer not to.
Do you live in Texas (where class rank is the most important factor in state university admissions) or are interested in colleges or scholarships where class rank or valedictorian status is highly important?
@ucbalumnus My dream school is Princeton, and I plan on applying there and to other top schools. Also, I live in Maryland, not Texas.
Princeton considers class rank to be very important, along with several other factors (rigor, GPA, standardized tests, recommendations, essay, talent, character), according to https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=111 . However, it is not necessarily obvious how well Princeton (or any other college) knows high schools A and B and how it may account for any differences in student competitiveness when considering class rank.
University of Maryland considers class rank to be important, but not as much as rigor, GPA, and standardized tests, which it considers to be very important, according to https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1526 .
If the two schools have applicant and admit data (e.g. Naviance plots) for your various colleges of interest, then you may want to see if (for example) valedictorian students at A have better or worse chances of admission to your colleges of interest than top 5% or 10% students at B (with same GPA as you assume). That may help you determine whether the tradeoff in class rank at B appears to be compensated for colleges knowing that B is more competitive.
What is the reason you prefer a more competitive environment if actual academic learning quality is similar? These forums had many stories about high school rank grubbing and cutthroat behavior that comes from the belief that admissions to highly desired colleges are limited. Granted, Texas seems to be a big source of such stories, but they are not absent from other states.
Or is it that most of your middle school friends went to B?
Maybe, you could transfer to the more competitive high school, since you will be challenged and motivated to do well. Across the country, there are probably thousands of valedictorians, so your straight As already help you stand out. Based on my research, if you attend a more competitive high school, colleges will expect you to have taken challenging courses and achieve good grades, but based on your grades right now, I think it would be no trouble for you. Hope this helps! 
@ucbalumnus I will definitely try to look for data - thanks! I prefer the more competitive environment because I like being with students that are motivated and excited to learn. Also, although I think I would be motivated at both schools, I feel that having more competition at my school will ultimately motivate me to work harder.
@followyourdream Thank you for your feedback! That’s a good point about valedictorians; I’ll try to look into how much being valedictorian really helps compared to being in the top 5 or 10%.
I highly value a likeminded talented peer group. Those are the people you want to have as friends throughout life. You’ll find more fun and motivation in classes if you move. It’s not just a social aspect. You’ll find yourself excelling even more just from their presence.
Thank you so much, everyone!