<p>I am currently ranked 1 in my sophomore class of 353. I'm scared my rank is going to go down, and in order to be the Val, I'm planning on taking a bunch of AP courses over the summer. Will this extra effort be worth it? Or do colleges view being the valedictorian the same as being, say, 2nd or 3rd, or in the top one percent?</p>
<p>Lets assume your rank doesn't drop past, say, five.</p>
<p>If you're rejected from an elite college, I seriously doubt that it'll be because you weren't valedictorian.</p>
<p>you can take AP classes over the summer?</p>
<p>Anyway, it's not like HPYS doesn't reject valeictorians. Do something enriching with your summer instead of focusing your life on good things to put on a resume.</p>
<p>Take online AP courses during the summer break. Hope my high school will count the credits.</p>
<p>My rule of thumb is that within 1% of your class, you're equal to everyone else in that 1%. That's where admission to HPYS hinges entirely on the other factors (test scores, ECs, recs, essays, etc).</p>
<p>So in your case, as long as you're top ~3-4, you should be fine. In your place, I'd do something I enjoy over summer break, be it volunteering, research, or rock climbing. Chances are, within top 3, that'll make more of a difference.</p>