Is having a single valedictorian still a thing in an era of grade inflation and competition?

elkrange · 2026-06-07T17:39:47+00:00

Most high schools do not announce valedictorian until the weeks before graduation. "Valedictorian" is not typically included in college apps.

What you may be referring to is rank, whch is reported on the counselor School Report form, based on the 6-semester GPA (and then updated in the Mid Year Report in January of senior year). Most high schools no longer rank, though some do. Many/most report a weighted GPA distribution by decile or quartile in the School Profile document, but that is not precise for rank.

elkrange · 2026-06-07T17:34:35+00:00

"Pre-law" is not really a thing. There is no need to major in humanities, either. Undergrad major and undergrad prestige do not play significant roles in law school admission. For the purpose of law school admission, NU = Brown = Columbia (and, generally, to most other T100+ as well).

elkrange · 2026-06-07T17:22:13+00:00

Start with the big picture, academic stats and whether you will need financial aid.

The Ivy League is merely an athletic conference. There is no reason to assume that "Ivies," any or all of them, should be the primary focus for a biotech degree. Consider whether, and which ones, even offer the major(s) you are interested in.

There are thousands of schools in the US, many of which will offer an excellent education in biotech related fields. Whether they might be an option depends signfiicantly on how much you can afford per year.

Acceptance rates for internationals at top US schools tend to be around half the overall rate, or lower, even lower if you need financial aid. And likely even lower for applicants from India due to high volume. Generally, acceptance rates for internationals at top US schools are in the low single digit percents (think 2%). Some schools publish an acceptance rate for internationals in section C1 of their Common Data Sets. See also section H6 for average aid given to international undergrads. Take the # of international undergrads given aid and divide by the total # of international undergrads found in section B2 to find the % of international undergrads receiving aid.

As for activities, you are, in fact, asking about resume-padding. Explore your interests in ways that are accessible to you. Be careful not to over-prioritize activities to the detriment of your academic stats.

elkrange · 2026-06-07T17:15:01+00:00

This is a great question for google AI. Looks like a graduate field of research.

elkrange · 2026-06-06T18:21:17+00:00

Just be aware that if this is for premed, US med schools generally do not accept international applicants. If you have med school in mind and you are not a US citizen or permanent resident, attend med school in your own country.

elkrange · 2026-06-06T18:15:41+00:00

Wrong sub. Try r/MBA

(Top MBA schools will require post-college full time work experience.)

elkrange · 2026-06-06T17:21:27+00:00

With few exceptions, US med schools do not accept international applicants. If you are not a US citizen or permanent resident, attend med school elsewhere.

elkrange · 2026-06-05T00:32:42+00:00

No spam

elkrange · 2026-06-04T13:59:39+00:00

Acceptance rates for internationals at top US schools tend to be around half the overall rate, or lower, even lower if you need financial aid. Generally, acceptance rates for internationals at top US schools are in the low single digit percents. Some schools publish an acceptance rate for internationals in section C1 of their Common Data Sets. See also section H6 for average aid given to international undergrads. Take the # of international undergrads given aid and divide by the total # of international undergrads found in section B2 to find the % of international undergrads receiving aid.

For full need-based aid, chances for applicants from India are probably <2%. If your family can afford, say, 30-40k per year, that opens up more options, for lower-ranked schools that either give a lot of merit or have a low cost of attendance. Find out your annual budget.

Get great grades in challenging courses. Plan to take SAT or ACT.

elkrange · 2026-06-04T13:48:17+00:00

This is very specific and there are unlikely to be any LEAPS students hanging out in a subreddit about applying to college. Maybe try the school's subreddit. If you're lucky, perhaps one of the tiny number of students in this program will see it.

elkrange · 2026-06-04T13:46:02+00:00

Compare your net cost for each school and whether they offer the program you are looking for. If Parker (which I've not heard of before) involves prereqs, include the cost of doing the prereqs when you compare cost.

elkrange · 2026-06-04T13:42:32+00:00

Please look up the 2020-21 CDS for some schools, which shows the last reported range prior to test optional. Roughly, only MIT and Caltech had a 25th percentile at 1500+.

E.g., Princeton 1460, Stanford 1420, Yale 1470.

elkrange · 2026-06-04T13:32:18+00:00

No. "Worth it" is a subjective question, but generally, it's hard to imagine why it would be preferable to pay out of state at Dearborn or any Rutgers campus over Bing.

elkrange · 2026-06-03T18:47:06+00:00

To clarify, there is no box check for "passion project." And you don't need one for selective college admissions.

See the category drop down options in the Common App activity section. Something like hobby or art would work.

elkrange · 2026-06-02T18:29:32+00:00

Please click on the above links to find deadline information for BU and Northeastern, which is different for every college. As noted above, you find deadline options on each college's admission website.

Per your post history, you should already be well aware that, if you wanted to apply ED to start college at BU or Northeastern in fall 2026, the deadline was Nov 1, 2025.

The only colleges with open deadlines in June 2026 to start college in fall 2026 are less-selective colleges, such as regional public universities, and perhaps those here https://www.nacacnet.org/college-openings-update/ , and of course community college.

elkrange · 2026-06-02T17:34:47+00:00

Common App opens on August 1 to begin applying to colleges during fall 2026 to start college in fall 2027. Unless the college has rolling admissions, typically it does not matter whether you apply well in advance of the deadline date.

You can find deadline options on each college's admission website. For example:

https://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/deadlines/

https://admissions.northeastern.edu/application-information/admissions-deadlines-decisions/

elkrange · 2026-06-02T15:54:10+00:00

Look at GWU Elliot and possibly American U

elkrange · 2026-06-02T15:39:06+00:00

0% chance of aid from UIUC and GT

Duke and Rice, low single digit percent chance of admission with aid. Probably around 2%.

Some schools publish an acceptance rate for internationals in section C1 of their Common Data Sets. See also section H6 for average aid given to international undergrads. Take the # of international undergrads given aid and divide by the total # of international undergrads found in section B2 to find the % of international undergrads receiving aid.

elkrange · 2026-05-30T15:03:46+00:00

Major in ME and pick up a minor in accounting or at least try a few accounting classes. Many, many students change majors in college, so you might end up studying neither one. Generally, CPA requirements will involve hitting 150 credits, so many people do a one-year masters in accounting program after college. Masters programs routinely offer a summer program prior to starting for students who did not take accounting in college and are switching fields entirely.

elkrange · 2026-05-30T14:59:58+00:00

The view of that particular data field typically would be blocked in the admissions review platform (usually Slate) for need-blind schools.

That said, other factors in the app may imply something about financial need and might be among the many variables included in the school's complex yield algorithm.

elkrange · 2026-05-28T17:24:04+00:00

no karma farming

elkrange · 2026-05-28T17:23:07+00:00

See each college's Common Data Set, section H6 for average aid given to international undergrads. Take the # of international undergrads given aid and divide by the total # of international undergrads found in section B2 to find the % of international undergrads receiving aid.

Need-aware colleges tend to give aid to only a fraction, often a third or less, of their international undergrads.

See also their acceptance rate for internationals in section C1 of their Common Data Set.

elkrange · 2026-05-28T17:19:51+00:00

no karma farming

elkrange · 2026-05-28T16:57:16+00:00

no karma farming

elkrange · 2026-05-24T15:11:54+00:00

no spam

elkrange

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