<p>Hello,
what percent of the student body was the valedictorian of their high school class? what about the salutatorian? I'm currently the salutatorian (feels terrible, man) but might be able to bring it up. I applied SCEA but was just curious about the difference in valedictorians and salutatorians at Yale. If anyone knew statistics for Harvard too, please mention them.
Thanks,
lolToasty</p>
<p>I don’t know that this statistic ever matterred to Yale and it is decreasingly useful now that more and more schools fail to rank. At first glance as a parent of accomplished kids I would prefer ranking but to hear a salutatorian say that it “(feels terrible, man) but might be able to bring it up” reaffirms my belief that this is probably a good trend.</p>
<p>As long as you are in the top percentiles of your public high school or perhaps a bit lower in a super competitive school, you will be on target to be competitive at any of these top tier schools. The difference between the valedictorian and the kid third or fourth in the class may be that the valedictorian took drivers eduction outside school but number four took that unweighted class in school. Do you think that should matter to the adcoms? I trust you have other accomplishments that mean more to you than salutatorian and have made an effort to convey those to the admissions committee. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>“As long as you are in the top percentiles of your public high school or perhaps a bit lower in a super competitive school, you will be on target to be competitive at any of these top tier schools.”</p>
<p>Even if the school is inner-city and part of a district that is known for it’s sub-par academics?</p>
<p>I understand what you are saying, however, and am glad to hear some reassurance that it really isn’t a big deal. I do have other things going for me, but I would absolutely love to be valedictorian. I would think that it would make my application sweeter. Thank you for the good wishes and sage input.</p>
<p>Honestly, val/sal does not play a big role (if any at all). Adcoms know that the difference between being number 1 and number 2 is often, merely receiving a 99 instead of a 100. They really do not care. As long as you are able to show that you are dedicated in areas outside of academics as well. My school is pretty sub-par, but last year, number 2 got into MIT. Number 1 did not. In the end, it just matters if you are able to make the best of your opportunities.</p>
<p>shockstot, that’s definitely reassuring. Perhaps I’m stressing over the smaller things.</p>
<p>I would have to Agree that Yale puts less significance on Val or Sal and more on standardized testing. My son was neither yet was accepted to Yale. He did score a 35 on the ACT though.</p>
<p>Another reason Val/Sal are not a big factor is that how HSs determine these designations varies widely. At our HS, anyone with a 4.0 (HS does not weight) is designated as a Val. The result is a large number of Vals with no distinction between kids that took rigorous courseloads and those that took the minimum to graduate.</p>
<p>Also the Val/Sal title might not accurately reflect the final rankings. At most schools, the calculations are done after third quarter or second trimester. The final quarter or trimester can change those rankings depending on the number of AP classes taken between the top ranked students.</p>
<p>That’s weird. My school does it right after the first semester and the rankings stay like that until graduation, regardless of how bad you slack in the last semester.</p>
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Are you sure that is what is sent to the colleges? My son’s school sent the final rankings as part of his final transcript and it wasn’t what the rankings were when Val/Sal was calculated.</p>
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<p>Yes, at our HS they don’t determine standing until final grades are in, so just before graduation. D2 ended up getting a B her last marking period and so was a Sal instead of Val. However everyone in town thought she was a Val because Val information had to be turned into the local newspaper earlier, before final grades.</p>
<p>Yeah, my district actually doesn’t calculate final grades for val/sal purposes. Even if one were to be the real val because of final grades, no one considers them to be one because the final ‘ranking’ grade is after the first semester</p>
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<p>But do you think adcoms recognize if you are val/sal of a school that is well-known for its academic rigor? That has to account for something, right?</p>
<p>What I’m trying to say is that the TITLE of Val/Sal is not what’s important. The SSR gives your rank, gpa and coursework, THAT’S what’s important.</p>
<p>Hello My son is a freshman and just recieved his first B in his advanced Geomertry and I am freaked out so I decided to get on some sites to see how badly this will affect him. What is SSR?</p>
<p>In my cousin’s district, anyone who has above a 4.0 weighted GPA is a valedictorian… If only…</p>
<p>SSR = Secondary School Report</p>