The Hype of Valedictorian

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>We all know that earning the title of valedictorian is something quite momentous and special? But how much is that taken into account in college admissions? </p>

<p>Let's say there's a valedictorian who only does golf and football. And he's decent at it.
Now let's look at his competition, #3, who is a clarinet section leader, very good at swimming, vice-president of the National Honor Society, and volunteers often. Take into account that their SATs, writing skills, and personal qualities are similar. Additionally, the valedictorian's GPA is .2 higher than #3. Who would get into the more prestigious school? Would the title of valedictorian make that person surpass #3 significantly, or will it only help a bit in college admission chances?</p>

2

<p>umm i would say the number 3, in my district the val of one school is going to ucla and the sal is going to harvard, proof right there.</p>

3

<p>well, could be financial reasons for that sapphire…did the val get rejected from harvard?</p>

4

<p>that i am not certain,good point, but only 2 people are going to harvard in my district, i think their qualifications are most likely the reason, because the district is considered underperforming and there is a lot of low income families. even so, harvard has amazing financial aid, as does other ivies like princeton and non-ivies like stanford.</p>

5

<p>right now, if i play my cards right, i’m val and nhs president, so hoepfully i won’t get rejected by the ivies</p>

6

<p>The EC’s are basically on the same lvl (keep in mind NHS is not worth a lot and volunteering won’t distinguish you unless you do something unique), and as you said test scores, writing skills, etc. are similar.</p>

<h1>1 has a better shot. A .2 difference in GPA is huge. The title of valedictorian itself would not give him a better shot, but the difference in GPA gives him a big advantage over you. If the difference were .02, then the title of valedictorian wouldn’t help him.</h1>

7

<p>when we’re talking about gpa, does this refer to junior year cumulative gpa or senior year gpa?</p>

8

<p>Did you mean .02? As in, a 3.98 and a 4.00? That’s a small difference, a 4.00 and a 3.8 are very different.</p>

9

<p>RIDICULOUS.
0.20 is a fricking big difference. On average, every A- (3.66) will drop you GPA .0125. So that means the student received 4 more A-'s (or 2 B’s so on and so forth) a year in high school. There is no way rank number 3 is .2 behind the Val.</p>

<p>No competition: Look at Valedictorian acceptance rates at top schools: 40 some %.
Take the val and send the other guy on the waitlist for sure. If the GPA difference is 0.02, then the situation is different.</p>

10

<p>How about 0.05 then?</p>

11

<p>that 's not how things work. There are a lot of things that are also very important in the selection process. In terms of grades, I don’t see what difference it would make as they are both definitely VERY qualified and will definitely be able to thrive academically in the institute. As for extracurriculars, you can’t just say that I have three activities, you have one, therefore my extra-curricular’s are superior to you. It’s about the breadth of what you do, your passion, and how you have made a difference that counts.</p>

<p>Additionally, the essays, interviews, etc are all important in decision making.</p>