The class of 2028 received their class ranks and GPA’s for the first time on Feb 1, and there is a variety of emotions regarding this release of information. 

“Knowing where you stand can either boost your confidence or lower it, since you could be soaring without knowing it or things might slowly be going downhill,” freshman Akshara Rajesh said. “It can motivate you to improve with your grades and move up the podium, however, it can also lower a student’s self esteem if they aren’t as high up in the ranks as they thought they would be— leading to a lot of stress.” 

The ranking system and GPA took a toll on senior Sanjana Suresh throughout her high school years. 

“I definitely think the competition we have at this school is unhealthy,” Suresh said. “It motivates you to do better, which is like a pro, but the con is that you get so stressed out trying to keep your rank up. I’ve had so many panic attacks, and I’ve had such bad days.” 

However, Rajesh points out that ranks and GPA aren’t the only important thing to focus on. 

“I’ve always thought that grades are important, but not to the point where they are the only thing to focus on,” Rajesh said. “It’s not the end of the world if things go south because there are other things that colleges look for than just grades, like extracurriculars, clubs, and personality.”

Suresh, on the other hand, claims that GPA and ranking is important to her. 

“I know a lot of people say no, but I am forced to think yes, cause that’s just how I work as a person,” Suresh said. “I know people say in 10 years it’s not gonna matter, but to me, getting into college and knowing that I got into the schools that I wanted to get into, I think that makes a huge difference. To me, it matters.”

Students can find their GPA/rank in the grades tab on HAC. Please visit the counselor’s office for more information.