<p>So maybe it's just me, or my school alone, but this year we have 10 valedictorians, which is normal for our school, but I can assure you that at least half of them and probably more did not take anywhere near the hardest classes that they could. I know one who took all honors and honestly and is like a natural teacher's pet, no joke, and another who just took 2 AP classes, which I guess is okay but I still think there are kids that work harder and I feel like it's really unfair to not reward them in some fashion, or have colleges know that. Anyone agree?</p>
<p>DF: in the real world (i.e. people 19 yrs or older) that stuff means less than nothing. Don’t sweat about it.</p>
<p>Also, colleges look at the rigor of course choice in high school.</p>
<p>The purpose of AP classes is to give you college credits. That’s the reward you get for taking them.</p>
<p>I’d rather my kid care about the learning than gaming the system. Don’t worry about it as you can’t change it.</p>
<p>Admissions easily spot the valedictorians who slid by with the easy classes. The top colleges carefully examine the rigor of your classes to be sure you took the most challenging curriculum.</p>
<p>Applications also ask the GC–how many other students share this rank? So if someone is one of ten or 50 valedictorians, the adcom will examine the details and determine iof the student is at all special or talented.</p>
<p>Colleges are looking for the tough classes.</p>
<p>While they may be ranked first with their easy classes, the colleges will see that their schedule is easy in a heartbeat. They’d rather have the one who’s slightly lower ranked but has a rigorous courseload than the one who got Valedictorian from Woodshop.</p>
<p>So, are your AP classes not given added weight? If not, that is the problem. At my kids’ high school, those who took the most APs end up with the top ranks.</p>
<p>Some schools determine rank based on unweighted GPA. My school has a weighted GPA, but uses the unweighted for Valedictorian.</p>
<p>Many schools weight GPAs for ranking purposes. For those schools that don’t, adcoms are capable of looking beyond the 4.0 into course rigor. GPA means very little without context.</p>
<p>Well at my school I’m not sure which they use, but I think it’s Weighted. Weighted works different for my school up to the Class of 2011, where the max weight you can get is for 2 AP classes and like 6 honors classes, so that’s all most of them take. There’s one or two that I know earned it and did the IB program, but the rest not so much. I’m like rank 20 in my school out of 730, and I believe there’s 10 or 11 valedictorians which is what I think made me ranked that low, plus I got a few B’s over the years. I did not do the IB program for reasons I won’t explain, but I have taken 4 AP tests and am taking 6 this year.</p>
<p>*My school has a weighted GPA, but uses the unweighted for Valedictorian. *</p>
<p>This sounds like one of those “feel good” schools that want kids who can only handle the easier classes to think their stats are as good as someone who’s taking harder courses. </p>
<p>Imagine how those who’ve taken AP curriculum, sitting at graduation while the school is presenting its Val(s) who took easier classes?</p>
<p>Of course its always nicer to have the title, but colleges can easily see the difference between who took the hardest classes vs. who has the great, magnificent 4.0. </p>
<p>At my graduation, I was slightly annoyed watching 7 of my classmates get the valedictorian title although only 2 of them took the most demanding schedule they possibly could, the rest took regular classes with double off periods, etc. My school is one of those “lets make everyone” valedictorian kind of schools, and a lot of my friends decided not to take the hardest AP classes because they were afraid it would mess up their perfect 4.0. When I got into the ivy I currently attend (I had a 3.9), people were like, “WHAT?? She’s not even valedictorian!” I tried to explain to them that a big part of the reason why I wasn’t valedictorian because I took on a full schedule all four years and all of them were honors/APs. All of my valedictorians ended up at in-state colleges instead of their top choice schools because they thought the big 4.0 was more important than taking the hardest classes possible, and were not looking at the bigger picture. So in the end, it all works out.</p>
<p>the Title of valedictorian and the signle number called GPA mean very little to adcoms. The adcoms at selective colleges review the entire Transcript, line by line, and draw their conclusion from that detailed review. Skating along without taking APs when they are available at the HS gets an IMMEDIATE toss from any selective college, no matter if the person calls themself the King of England. “wanker didn’t even try…”</p>