//OPINION


classesUNhealthy productivevaledictorian apply 20%


AP our voice


nighters jealosy


RANK all-


rank gpa


#1


productivecut- throat


counter


Number one isn’t best S


enior Faith Huh often pulls all-nighters to complete her homework. She takes AP classes but invests her time in broad- cast journalism, otherwise known as ‘Te DEC.’ Huh doesn’t beat herself up to complete her work every night for some ludicrous class rank. She does it because she’s interested in the subjects she takes.


Huh is in the top five percent of this year’s senior class and feels


no need to gun for valedictorian. “Maybe if I were in number one or number two, I might have tried really hard to get it because there is this unspoken advantage,” she said. “I see that [rank] is not as big of a deal as everyone who’s in the situation makes it, so now I’m able to focus more on clubs and things I really want to do, like ‘Te DEC.’” Although Huh might not be the valedictorian, she’s now doing what she wants to do. Isn’t that what’s most important? Like Huh, rather than focusing on the number above their heads, students should focus on what they have going for them. Additionally, students should not give one number such impor-


tance. With the variables that affect a student’s rank, from course length to the teacher of the course, students are not comparable – the rank system is flawed. At Decatur, the valedictorian, salutatorian and the student ranked third generally have GPAs within 0.025 of one another. Students should quit focusing on their individual rank and instead focus on doing their best. As students begin applying to competitive universities, grades


and ranks seem very important. “Maybe as a student, academics seem like the most important thing. But it’s the activities you do and your real interests that are most important, and that’s what you should pursue,” Huh said. “If you’re going to invest your time into something, you should do what you love.” It appears that college admission officers agree with Huh. Ac-


cording to Rick Clark, head of admissions at Georgia Tech, “We are really only looking at the classes you take, the grades you make and what other interests you have to offer us. Tis is pretty true for most selective institutions.” While some argue that rank allows colleges to compare students,


Clark disagrees. “We know what each individual school offers, so if you’re making the most of whatever you’re provided, then we’re impressed. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re number one or number 10.” Today, most competitive universities mostly focus on the top per-


centiles. “For a selective school like Georgia Tech, we’re really just concerned about who is in the top 20, rather than each individual


average grade


point


A + college


home work


advantages top


unspoken


unspoken advantages


gamegranular ACT #2 woverorked best excellthe


PRESSURE apps


extracurriculars


JEALOSY dangerous


oat college A+ thr cut- 3.864


achieve OVER


counter productive


resume fillers SELECTIVE


stressors #1 competition


the race


school


pressure too much


work- aholics


STRESS ACT


acceptedcounter3.985top10% GOALS the


TOP 10


flaws


university rank


4.0#1home mindset success A+


S WORKAT admissions


workedover theBEST


salutatorian lasses


AP motivation c scholarships


3.97 #1


25th percentile collaborate GPA


rank 4.0 nightersall- RANK worked


brackets over


#2 ludicrous


top ten


the


resume fillers %


place, so rank is rarely helpful,” Clark said. “If it were done in tiers, you could potentially motivate people. But when it gets really gran- ular, that just doesn’t have a lot of advantages.” Huh noted the social consequences associated with the race to number one. “When there’s a lot of competition, that’s when friend- ships might be dissolved,” Huh said. “Generally, the people who excel at school are all friends, so it’s dangerous to create that com- petition.” Te problem is clear: rank is an unfortunate label that creates


counterproductive competition. But the solution isn’t so clear. Do we do away with rank completely? Both Clark and Huh argue no, because of rank’s ability to motivate. “Tat’s kind of the beauty of competition– it should drive you to be better,” Clark said. Instead of labeling students as “number one” or “number two,”


schools could rank students by subject. It’s rare to find a student that does well in every class without beating themselves up along the way, but certain students excel in certain areas. Such a system would allow schools to acknowledge and highlight different stu- dents’ strengths. Another option would be to release “brackets” of ranks. Tis sys-


tem would allow schools to maintain the motivational advantages behind class rank. “If you’re in the top 20 percent, you’ll push your- self to be in the top 10 percent,” Clark said. “Or if you’re in the top 10 percent, you’ll push yourself to maintain being in the top 10 percent.” More importantly, such a system would eliminate the negative


competition behind individual class ranks. “When you’re like, ‘I’m number 15,’ I just can’t think that that doesn’t make you look around and say, ‘Who’s number 14, and why is that?’ And then it’s kind of petty, rather than being what it should be, which is the best educa- tion possible. Don’t you want the best kids to collaborate with one another?” Clark said. “You would just hate if that number eight said, ‘I’m not going to share what I know with number nine because I don’t want them to take my rank.’ Tat defeats what education is quintessentially all about.” Labeling students with one number and the obsession associated with that number creates an unhealthy game that students have to learn to play. For schools to harvest the best students possible, it’s crucial that schools eliminate individual class rank and students change their mindsets on the importance of being number one. n


Colleen Suratt for the majority opinion of the editorial board OCTOBER 2011 • CARPE DIEM 47


consequences INFLATION passion


achievers #


over- 1


intense competition


motivation achieve


perfect score


college brackets stress friendships education students race


excell academics valedictorian


grade point average


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48