Well for me being the top of my college class meant I got a letter asking me to apply for grad school gratis. So being at the top meant I saved about 80K. And others in different areas were also asked to apply. Like anything, you often get different opportunities if you are in the top 5% of anything ( including performance at work). When I went to grad school, it was pretty rare, but I’d imagine being a top scholar at a top school still opens doors.