How many of you were valedictorians (or not)?

[I'm No Superman]

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Our school actually doesn't have a valedictorian. We have this weird 8-way thing where the top 8 people in our class are considered #1. I think our class president speaks instead of a valedictorian, which is hilarious because he's pretty spontaneous and I'm fairly certain he smokes plants. 🙂

 

[D elegans]

Maybe I'm subconsciously bitter because I was 5/200 or something like that in high school but valedictorian is so overrated. Grading is highly variable and inflated anyway. See how far saying you were high school valedictorian gets you when you're high rolling at bars in college.

 

[QofQuimica]

I was valedictorian out of about 400 other kids. Means crap. I found out about a month after I'd been accepted early action to my top choice school so I didn't give a rat's butt. My GPA was like two thousandths of a point higher than the next girl's, and there was this whole shebang because her parents were upset that I happened to be ahead. Newspaper articles and everything. It kind of scarred me a little bit. So, the moral of the story is that high school class rank is stupid and doesn't matter for med school. I'd say that instead of focusing solely on grades in HS (unless you absolutely love a school that requires good grades, and love the school not just the name), focus on finding out what you really enjoy doing with extracurriculars. Or learn a language. That will help you waaay more than a stellar class rank, which I have found is more trouble than it's worth.

It's too bad that the "grownups" have to get involved with making a bunch of high-strung kids even more strung out. They can behave just as badly (if not worse) than the kids.

I had a similar experience as you (valedictorian c/o 1993, similar class size). When I was a freshman, there were two of us who were tied for first rank. Halfway through sophomore year, I was first rank by myself, and I stayed there until we graduated. By the end of junior year, I was so far ahead that there was no way the salutatorian could have caught up unless I had totally bombed. Even so, senior year, I couldn't take a debate class because the debate teacher wanted to help the salutatorian win, and he had to stop taking Spanish classes for the same reason. The salutatorian and I weren't really friends in the sense that we didn't hang out together outside of school, but we didn't have any animus between us either. If the faculty had just stayed out of it, there wouldn't have been any drama at all. But it was such a negative experience with faculty trying to manipulate the results, even though I had "won" fair and square, that I chose to attend a small liberal arts college that grades completely P/F.

During my valediction, I thanked the debate teacher for her help and support. It was completely sarcastic, but only the salutatorian and my family and friends knew that, because I said it like I was being sincere. The best part was that after the ceremony ended, one of the school board members came up to me and was gushing about how thrilled the debate teacher, who wasn't present at the ceremony, would be to hear that I had honored her like that. Turns out that this school board member was good friends with the debate teacher, and she said she would be sure to let the debate teacher know that I had recognized her in my speech. I told the school board member that I would really appreciate her doing that. Imagining the debate teacher having to pretend to be happy that I had sarcastically thanked her was the highlight of my entire experience with being valedictorian. 😛

 

[Eponine94]

My high school stopped officially ranking the year that I started high school, but all the kids in the top 5-10% seem to know where they stand anyway. The unofficial valedictorian of 2011 was accepted everywhere he applied, except Harvard, and is going to Stanford after getting his schools down to Yale, MIT, and Stanford. Lucky duck. He's also a Presidential Scholar, of course...

On another note, Freshman year (when our school was still ranking) I was "first," while this other, very intelligent, high-powered student was slightly behind me. The next year she transferred schools because she wasn't first. Umm... really? I didn't even know I ranked, or that there was ranking, until the honor roll ceremony! Priorities anyone?

I just have to add that college apps are complete cr*pshoots. One of my really good graduating friends applied to only "reach" Ivies after being accepted EA to U Chicago, and was rejected from every single one, even schools that you would have thought he would have gotten into, like Columbia and Brown. I know that these are reaches for everybody, but this kid had straight A's, a 4.7~, a 36 ACT, and won the outstanding student award since 10th grade, while holding a job, tutoring, singing in choir, playing the violin in youth orchestra, being on the state champion mountain bike team, the ultimate frisbee team, and heading our MUN club.

Jesus, what more do these people want?

 

[I'm No Superman]

Jesus, what more do these people want?

I know, we had a student who got a 36 last year and she was rejected from every Ivy, but we had a kid who got a 32 get into Brown.

 

[Eponine94]

I know, we had a student who got a 36 last year and she was rejected from every Ivy, but we had a kid who got a 32 get into Brown.

And it's not even like he was just a high GPA/ACT with no ECs. Sometimes I think I'm just going to apply to my state school, with guaranteed admission, actually enjoy my senior year, graduate from a very good state school with no debt, and then go to medical school. Why bother with the Ivies when all they do is cause heartache and massive piles of debt. Its not as if we want to be professors of medieval architecture, where the name might actually matter.

I hate college admissions. Death to the college board. Death to college advisors. Death to overachievers who post the perfect GPA and ACT/SATs to ask if they have "any chance of getting in"... Grr. (End Rant...)

 

[AntiHouseMD]

As we're debating college admissions, I need some advice. The more I read online, sometimes at this website the more I'm worried. I have a great GPA, over 4.0. I also can get good recommendations. But my extracurriculars and outside activities really aren't impressive. I've written for newspapers' sports departments for three years and counting (two years as a volunteer, one as an employee), and I am the editor of our school newspaper. Besides that, I only have a job with the town's media department. After looking at some candidates with several volunteer opportunities and a handful of extracurricular activities, I get somewhat anxious. I'm not looking at the top level of colleges, but I'm worried that the schools will take more notice of my lack of outside activities than my grades or test scores. Maybe I'm just worrying too much, but I'm still nervous about it. Am I just too nervous, or should I be concerned? Any help would be deeply appreciated.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

37th/400. 3.45 GPA and 1960 SAT. I screwed around in high school and hung around with the wrong people, but as soon as Bio 1 started in college, I buckled down.

 

[QofQuimica]

Sometimes I think I'm just going to apply to my state school, with guaranteed admission, actually enjoy my senior year, graduate from a very good state school with no debt, and then go to medical school.

This is exactly what I did. I didn't even apply anywhere OOS, just to three of my state schools. Was fully scholarshipped to all of them, including living expenses. They all had an Honors program that IMO is the equal in terms of caliber of learning experience that you would get at any private school anywhere. The one I wound up attending is a public liberal arts college that is on Money Magazine's list of best buys every year.

Why take out loans when you can get a great education for free? If you can go to your state school on scholarship, and they have an Honors program for you to join, you should seriously consider it, especially if you're planning to go to med school afterward. Scholarships for med school are few and far between. You'll be very happy not to have that extra debt ten years from now.

 

[loveoforganic]

This is exactly what I did. I didn't even apply anywhere OOS, just to three of my state schools. Was fully scholarshipped to all of them, including living expenses. They all had an Honors program that IMO is the equal in terms of caliber of learning experience that you would get at any private school anywhere. The one I wound up attending is a public liberal arts college that is on Money Magazine's list of best buys every year.

Why take out loans when you can get a great education for free? If you can go to your state school on scholarship, and they have an Honors program for you to join, you should seriously consider it, especially if you're planning to go to med school afterward. Scholarships for med school are few and far between. You'll be very happy not to have that extra debt ten years from now.

I wasn't a valedictorian (so I'm not misleading), but ditto that. Ride the money, unless you're going into a career (business) where that prestige really matters.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

It's too bad that the "grownups" have to get involved with making a bunch of high-strung kids even more strung out. They can behave just as badly (if not worse) than the kids.

I had a similar experience as you (valedictorian c/o 1993, similar class size). When I was a freshman, there were two of us who were tied for first rank. Halfway through sophomore year, I was first rank by myself, and I stayed there until we graduated. By the end of junior year, I was so far ahead that there was no way the salutatorian could have caught up unless I had totally bombed. Even so, senior year, I couldn't take a debate class because the debate teacher wanted to help the salutatorian win, and he had to stop taking Spanish classes for the same reason. The salutatorian and I weren't really friends in the sense that we didn't hang out together outside of school, but we didn't have any animus between us either. If the faculty had just stayed out of it, there wouldn't have been any drama at all. But it was such a negative experience with faculty trying to manipulate the results, even though I had "won" fair and square, that I chose to attend a small liberal arts college that grades completely P/F.

It's pretty bad that the people who were causing the most drama about the whole situation were your teachers. It's completely out of line for a teacher to grade a student differently based on something like eventual class rank. Glad you got the last laugh on the debate teacher, though. 😀

 

[lilslsailor]

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