Since class ranks have recently been released, everybody seems to be freaking out about them. There is so much controversy as to whether or not they are actually important to college. I honestly think that GPA’s are much more important when it comes to applying for college and measuring your success academically.

Many people are getting discouraged because of their rank even if their GPA is high. I personally have a pretty high GPA on the 4.0 scale yet my rank is low. My GPA only dropped .1 from last year, but my rank dropped 70. I try not to get worked up about rank because I know that GPA’s are more a more vital aspect when it comes to getting into college.

To me, class ranks are just another set of numbers that everyone defines themselves with. Just because your rank is lower than your friends, does not necessarily mean that they are smarter than you. We go to an extremely academically competitive school, and colleges will take note of that. Besides, from what I’ve heard, colleges really don’t care much about your rank.

Your class rank is based upon your weighted GPA rather than your College Board one. That being said, your rank has a lot to do with how many Pre-AP/AP classes you take. This does not mean you should randomly pile all sorts of advanced classes in your schedule to raise your rank. I made that mistake this year and ended up having to drop one of them because I put too much on my plate. Take classes that suit you, be involved, keep your GPA as high as you can and you will be fine. Ranks are just causing unnecessary stress, so try not to worry too much about them.