I know a story similar to Val's - valedictorian, rural high school in the SE, no AP classes available, near perfect SATs, plenty of extracurriculars, and 0 for 2 on Ivy admissions back in the mid-80's.
Whereas that was me in the early 90's, and I was 1 for 1 on Ivy admissions.
I think part of it is that there's not enough headroom in those sorts of descriptions to distinguish the 99.999th percentile valedictorian-with-high-SATs from the 99th percentile one. And part of it is that even with 17% yields, test scores and grades have never been sufficient to demonstrate that you can successfully transition from big-fish-in-small-pond to small-fish-in-big-pond.
The Ivies are generally considered to be much harder to get in than to stay in, and they don't want to admit kids who will struggle unsuccessfully. IMHO you need some way of demonstrating that you have the ability to struggle successfully, not just that you're smart.
