Here’s what no one is willing to tell you about your GPA and SAT score: at a certain point, THEY DON’T MATTER.

College admissions is a tough game – but there are rules to getting into the best schools like Princeton and Stanford. I worked in the Admissions Office of a Top 20 school for 3 years, so I’ve had plenty of experience figuring out what really matters for high school students.

With academics and test scores, everyone has an opinion. Here’s mine: there are 2 rule that you should know, that will save a lot of time during the admissions process:

1) Aim for the top 3-5% of your class and you’ll be completely fine. Being valedictorian helps – obviously – but not nearly as much as most people think. There are simply too many valedictorian applicants, and Yale values other areas as much if not more

Of course, it depends on your school. If it’s a very easy public school, you need to do better.

2) As long as your SAT is above 2100, you’re fine. Of course, a perfect SAT score helps. But again – college admissions officers value other areas equally

I’m not recommending you get just a 2100. I’m saying that if you score over it, it’s better to focus your energy on other areas – such as your passion for music, wrestling, or environmental issues.

As another caveat, it’s important to take every hard class that your school provides. College admissions looks at your transcript – and if it looks like you’re not challenging yourself academically, it will hurt.

Do this, and you’ll have a step up on the admissions competition.

Finally, as I tell everyone and describe in detail in my Hopeless to Harvard book, it’s all about telling a great story. You do this not through your test scores, but through your EC commitments, your essays, and so on.