How much advantage does being valedictorian give an applicant?

Colleges & Universities Stanford University
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<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I’m a SCEA applicant from Western Canada. I’m 1/800+ in my graduating class, scored 2240 SAT I, and 800/800/780/770 SAT II. The seven ECs that I put on the Common App (since Stanford doesn’t look at additional materials) include volunteering at a local hospital, rugby team captain, two leadership roles in the biggest events at my school, level 10 piano (highest before teacher/performer levels), member of National Lifeguard Society, and city-wide French oral competition winner.</p>

<p>That said, as an international, I’m apparently placed in a very very competitive pool, given that I am also vying for fin. aid. I’m not the winner of any huge national academic awards like some of you are, since Canada doesn’t offer those kind of things. As well, I noticed that you guys place a lot of emphasis on “focus” in the ECs, but by nature, I like to broaden my experiences as much as I can in different ECs. I also don’t really have a “hook.” So there are so many obstacles between me and Stanford as we stand.</p>

<p>My question is, how much advantage does being valedictorian give me? </p>

<p>Thank you guys for your input!</p>

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<p>I don’t think it really matters as long as they see that you have challenged yourself to the maximum and did so successfully</p>

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<p>ditto to Mr Prez</p>

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<p>Emphasize that you were “rugby captain” & “city-wide French oral competition winner”.</p>

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<p>yay, another Canadian :slight_smile: </p>

<p>the financial aid is the killer part.
I’m in pretty much the same situation as you except for fin aid. and not val :p</p>

<p>valedictorian is nice, but it really depends on everything else you do. good grades only take you so far.</p>

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<p>Wow thank you guys for the quick replies haha. Oh I forgot that I am also a full diploma IB candidate, so yes, I do take the most rigorous courseload possible. </p>

<p>But I called an adcom a couple months ago and guess what number (acceptance rate) he gave me for international students wanting fin. aid? 3%. That depressed me to no end. Haha.</p>

<p>Since then, another adcom has refuted that claim, but I suspect it’s only because she didn’t want to give out any definitive numbers.</p>

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<p>wow. I take full IB too D: and I have my NLS and RCM gr 10 piano too DD: and my stats are similar enough. maybe that’s all just stereotypical asian hehe</p>

<p>yeah, financial aid decreases your chances a lot. that’s unfortunate :frowning:
personally, I think valedictorian just shows strong grades, and therefore won’t be much better than having a 4.0 with a rigorous courseload.</p>

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<p>well 3/5 valedictorians at my school last year went to Stanford…</p>

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<p>How does your school yield 5 valedictorians per year?</p>

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<p>It varies from year to year, there are two this year. All 4.0 UW are valedictorians automatically…I know it’s a pretty foolish way of going about the process but wtvr…</p>

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<p>Wow, I totally did not post that before your post .serendipity…</p>

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<p>Oh I see. Thanks for the clarification. Haha this site can be a little screwy with times.</p>

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<p>I’m 3rd in my class and a full diploma candidate. Honestly, I think being a full IB diploma candidate may help you more than being valedictorian. Think of everything involved with being in IB: CAS, our EE, not to mention a difficult course load that is at least at par with AP… 1st in your class is good, but I think being a full diploma candidate is a hook of its own. </p>

<p>Granted, I’m a tad biased. [:</p>

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<p>Honestly, Pajkaj? Hmm. I guess that could be debatable, but you’re right, IB does stipulate lots of extra stuff. IB courses ARE harder than AP courses not just in the information taught but because it comes with so much more. (I’m hating my math portfolio right now).</p>

<p>Anyways, thanks for the response everyone. </p>

<p>Anyone else is welcome to chime in. (:</p>

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<p>Math portfolios are a prime example. AP students don’t write 10-15 page math papers, unless I’m mistaken. I’ve heard many teachers say “AP teaches breadth. IB teaches depth.” <em>I am aware of my bias.</em></p>

<p>And, you have both IB AND being a valedictorian. I think that combo right there is hook-ish. It at least puts you in good standing. Even if Stanford doesn’t put IB above AP, any valedictorian who took all AP classes junior and senior year would be considered to have a difficult course load.</p>

<p>In other words, I think you are a more viable candidate than you let on. Your scores are sound too.</p>

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<p>My school doesn’t offer any IB courses, so I’m a little worried that that might hurt me… In fact, I didn’t even know such a thing existed until I started poking around on college websites. Ah well, that’s what I get for living in a tiny town.</p>

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<p>they won’t hold that against you if you’re school doesnt offer it. as long as you took advantage of your school’s most rigorgous curric</p>

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<p>I don’t know if it would make you truly stand out, but I think it would def. make you a competitive student. Imagine how many valedictorians apply to Stanford.</p>

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<p>So, in light of recent new information, I’m even more convinced than ever that there is no way I can get in.</p>

<ol>
<li>I read in one of these chance threads that there are only 40 fin. aid packages for intl. students per year.</li>
<li>Apparently being Asian is a very significant detriment.</li>
</ol>

<p>This is depressing. ):</p>

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<p>It probably helps some. But then again, Stanford rejects enough valedictorians every year to fill its freshman class.</p>