<p>and so many Vals are just that, Vals and while many are amazing, many are just into the studying....and "top" schools look at the whole person, not just a gpa</p>
<p>It's very possible that his/her course load is spread out over two semesters. For instance, many of the AP classes that are taught at my school are semester-long courses, in order to accomodate more classes and students into the schedule.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Think about it - there are over 30,000 high schools in the US. That means 30,000 valedictorians. Each year Harvard, for example, accepts about 2000 applicants. That leaves room for a lot of valedictorians to get rejected.
[/quote]
- Not all schools have valedictorians
- Not all valedictorians apply to harvard...</p>
<p>bobmallet1,</p>
<p>Even if not all schools have vals, there are always "val-equivalents." That, and I bet that the overwhelming majority of vals do apply to Harvard or other top 5 schools.</p>
<p>YES! UCLAri put it best. Most vals are encouraged to apply to top schools and you'll get vals that aren't very competitive in other areas. That's why the val accepted rate looks so low. Basically, be competitive in as many areas as possible.</p>
<p>Thank you guys SO much! </p>
<p>I have hope once again. I suppose that I DO have a chance even though it's all As and Bs this year. <em>sighs</em> I am so relieved. I was freaking out when I realized I would be getting As and Bs- there are so many ppl out there getting straight As in all their hard courses and stuff. </p>
<p>Not that I think I am getting in for sure, but at least I know I won't be rejected for getting Bs. And that a few Bs actually don't look that bad. </p>
<p>Because many were wondering:</p>
<p>I live in Florida. I take 7 year-long courses in school. Florida Virtual School offers more than 30 courses online for free for any student resident of Florida. They offer many APs and lots of honors, and just a bunch of courses really, so I take alot through there. They pay for the AP test. Because it's online, you are not done with the course unless you submit every assignment and therefore prepares you (in my opinion) much better for an AP test as it covers ALL the material needed to pass or else you don't finish the course. </p>
<p>In addition to school courses (7) and online courses (3-5 per year), I also take dual enrollment (2- courses). Thus, the 11 course schedule (so far).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Even if not all schools have vals, there are always "val-equivalents." That, and I bet that the overwhelming majority of vals do apply to Harvard or other top 5 schools.
[/quote]
But the school does not release the information...</p>
<p>Of course it doesn't, but we can extrapolate based on evidence (both anecdotal and statistical) and conclude that most valedictorians or people in a similar position are applying to top 5 schools.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>I have hope once again. I suppose that I DO have a chance even though it's all As and Bs this year. <em>sighs</em> I am so relieved.<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Yes, as I said a <em>few</em> Bs won't keep you out. But at the same time don't relax and start pulling down a lot of Bs. As I said, my daughter got in with two Bs. The rest were straight As. I don't know where the border is. Are 3 or 4 Bs okay? Are 7? How about 10? I really don't know. It's probably different at different high-end schools schools. But I'm guessing at some point it will be an issue if you get too many.</p>
<p>@butter: Standford is not an ivy league school. It's certainly a top school, but not one of the 8.</p>
<p>@topic starter: Calm down, a few Bs/B+s, I would characterize as almost a necessity on an application. I would think someone who only got straight As would be more of a machine without any time to do anything but study. Colleges want smart, intellectual people who are well prepared to flourish in the school. Those who only study enough to earn 100s on everything don't stand out as they seem like a machine, not someone who is likely to take advantage of a university. Colleges want intellectual people, not necessarily book worms.</p>
<p>To put it in further perspective when it comes to Stanford....</p>
<p>"Stanford University is ranked second among world universities and second among universities in the Americas by Shanghai Jiao Tong University,[28] sixth among world universities in the THES-QS World University Rankings,[29][30], seventh among national universities by The Washington Monthly,[31] second among "global universities" by Newsweek,[32] and in the first-tier among national universities by The Center for Measuring University Performance.[33] Stanford University also participates in the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU)'s University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN)."</p>
<p>Looks like "Ivy" isn't always necessary to be awesome.</p>
<p>*My #1 choice is UPenn. Also applying to Princeton, Stanford, and Harvard.
*</p>
<p>hahah good choices, those are my top 4 also. In order though it's Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn for me.</p>
<p>Val acceptance is like 50%. Regular applicant acceptance is like 10%. Val= still an awesome thing to be.</p>
<p>To the OP,</p>
<p>Chill out. As others have said, a few Bs will not mean the difference b/w an acceptance and a rejection. I can't believe how many threads I see asking this very same question.</p>
<p>However, lackluster ECs very well could be.</p>
<p>when do you get home??</p>
<p>cause i have 6 classes but i get out of school at 2:55...</p>
<p>I take 9 classes a day.</p>
<p>Keshira, where did you get that information from? Valedictorians surely do not have a 50% admit rate, do they?</p>
<p>Yes it is possible. :) gl</p>
<p>Either this course load is a piece of fiction or this OP has been very poorly advised. Why so many AP courses and then Algebra 2 PLUS Precalculus in junior year? IMO it reflects very poorly on the student's judgement.</p>
<p>I am a senior in high school now, applying to colleges, and I had the same problem you did last year- typically a straight A kid, I had a difficult time with APs. But get this- even though my grades sere lower than in previous years, my GPA actually went up. APs are a great thing to have, because even if you don't do as well as usual, they still raise your average AnD look really good to colleges. My guidance counselor says colleges would rather see eighties and low nineties in the highest level classes available to you than a hundred in a normal high school level course. Good luck!</p>