I pulled a 3.4 in high school, so no where near the top, but I believe I was about 125 out of 600, lol. Now I have a 3.96 cumulative (4.0 major) as a junior in college. Provided I don't get too many A-'s, B's, or C's, I'm on track to graduate summa cum laude and somewhere near the top of the graduating class (and almost definitely tops in the Accounting major).
The big accounting firms will check on your GPA and they tend to like higher numbers (and they've become even more selective in this economy), so I have to keep it high. Plus since I intend to go on to a top MS in Accounting program after graduation, I've got to keep it up there.