Every year, some juniors and seniors have the option to factor out one course from their class rank calculation, and they can sign up to do that during the GPA opt-out window, which closes Tuesday. 

Students can request an opt out by navigating to the FISD Student Portal, clicking the ‘GPA Opt Out Request,’ tile, and filling out the form. Only specific on-level, elective classes, such as band, orchestra, and choir, can be opted out of.

Additionally, students must have a GPA of 5.0 or higher and must have participated in the course they’re opting out of for at least two years to be eligible for this. 

“I decided to do the GPA opt out because I feel like it encourages four year commitment, and it’s good because it takes away the burden of having an on-level class from your weighted GPA and your rank and stuff like that,” senior Isha Banerjee said. “It’s a really easy process. All you have to do is put in your parent’s email and your name or something. So it took me like five minutes.” 

Band student, senior Krishna Perneti also values the GPA opt-out opportunity. 

“GPA opt-out was a way I could maximize my GPA to stay academically competitive with my peers while still staying in the fine arts program I love—which is band,” Perneti said. “I think there’s really no reason not to opt out if you meet the eligibility requirements, because the GPA boost you get is pretty substantial.”