<p>Do colleges look at what type of high school you go? For example, if you were valedictorian in a relatively medium sized high school in South Dakota, would it be as influential in deciding admission as being valedictorian at a nationally ranked high school?</p>
<p>Of course. The more rigorous a school is, the more impressive a valedictorian from that school will seem.</p>
<p>But that might not be the best example… an Ivy-qualified candidate from South Dakota is significantly more rare than one in the Northeast.</p>
<p>IMO, those two hypothetical valedictorians are on somewhat of a level playing field.</p>
<p>Now compare a nationally ranked school versus a mediocre school in the same geographic region, and then there is a significant advantage.</p>