Hey guys, I'm a little confused about the difference between summa cum laude and valedictorian. Can someone explain the difference and also how important they are for college applications?
Hello! I understand the confusion, as they're both academic distinctions, but they do have different meanings.
Summa cum laude is a Latin term meaning "with highest honor," and it is conferred upon graduating students usually at the end of their college career. It is determined by a student's overall academic performance, such as maintaining a high GPA (often within the top 5% of the class), and sometimes by completing certain requirements like an honors thesis. The specific qualifications for summa cum laude may vary by institution.
On the other hand, valedictorian is a title given to the student (or sometimes students) with the highest academic standing (GPA) in their graduating class, at either the high school or college level. The valedictorian typically gives a speech at the graduation ceremony. It's important to note that while a valedictorian will often graduate summa cum laude if the honor is available at their school, not every summa cum laude graduate will be the valedictorian, as there's only one valedictorian per class.
Both distinctions showcase your hard work and academic prowess, but only valedictorian is likely to be relevant to college admissions, since summa cum laude is a distinction that would be awarded when you finish college.
That said, while being valedictorian is certainly a nice gold star to have on your application, it's unlikely to make or break your chances. Colleges take a holistic approach to admissions, by evaluating several aspects such as your coursework, standardized test scores (if required), essays, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation. While admissions officers certainly want to accept students with strong academic profiles, they also care about your broader talents, interests, and perspectives.
Whether or not you're on pace to be valedictorian, if you want to know how your overall profile stacks up at your top-choice schools, I'd check out CollegeVine's free chancing engine, which accounts for not just class rank but also GPA, course rigor, extracurriculars, test scores, and so on to give you personalized odds of acceptance at hundreds of colleges around the country: https://www.collegevine.com/admissions-calculator/. This tool will also give you tips on how to boost your chances!
In summary: summa cum laude is an academic honor earned by top students at the end of their college career, while valedictorian is an accolade given to the single student with the highest GPA in their high school or college class. Both are commendable achievements that can enhance your academic resume, but only valedictorian will be relevant to your college applications, and it's still crucial to balance this achievement with other academic, extracurricular, and personal accomplishments.
Good luck with your college process!
CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.