<p>So they announced valedictorian/salutitorian today, and for the last year or so I’ve been counting on being val, but apparently, since the top 2 GPAs were so close, we’re having co-vals instead. I am rankled. I realize it doesn’t matter much, but when I took the hardest schedule I could think of and the other girl took a year full of gut courses, it really makes me angry. Besides that, now we have to split the graduation prize for valedictorian, which means she’s horning in on my money. And it’s not even like the GPAs were the same! Cranky…</p>
<p>Who cares?</p>
<p>So you're losing how much? If it's less than $500, meh.</p>
<p>I know it seems horrible now, but 10 years from now, nobody is going to care that you were valedictorian. In fact, after the commencement ceremony nobody's gonna care.</p>
<p>I know that doesn't matter. It's the principle of it. If she didn't earn it, why does she still get it?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, since valedictorian is not always well-defined at all schools, it's an arbitrary distinction.</p>
<p>I hereby dub thee valedictorian of UCLAri High School. See how easy it is?</p>
<p>It's all simply fluff, and poorly defined fluff at that.</p>
<p>Why don't you sue? Perhaps Blair Hornstine or her father could recommend a good attorney.</p>
<p>Yes, just what we need, more litigiousness.</p>
<p>Good lord. That case was such a waste of time.</p>
<p>Your school doesnt have weighted gpa? (which would reflect this girl's fluffy schecule...)</p>
<p>Not that this answers your question, but my school doesn't have a weighted GPA.</p>
<p>I really enjoyed how my school did things. Since we are a private, college-prep school with 99% of all graduates going directly into college, our school doesn't rank or weight GPA. The only time this is a problem is when they name vals, but thats really pointless anyway.</p>
<p>Yeah, my school is like that too Pete, and I really like it for the reduction in pressure and cut-throat competition. However, they do resort to calculating WEIGHTED gpa for a valedictiorian award at the end of the year (which isnt even called "valedictorian", its called like cum laude or something)...
...so how do they calculate valedictorian at your schoolt ehn Pete?</p>
<p>At my school I think they just take the top GPA (unweighted) -- for instance, like 4 people got it this year.</p>
<p>Then, for second place people they get salutatorian -- we had a few of those too.</p>
<p>Curiously, I didn't get either ;) But thats mainly because of some B+s at the University of Minnesota... damn huge lectures and grades based on two exams... Well, and a really tough Sophomore with coming out and being hospitalized for depression. That didn't go so well either.</p>
<p>Oh, then we also have "Graduating with Honors" which is the traditional cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude.</p>
<p>
[quote]
grades based on two exams...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Welcome to college.</p>
<p>Our school doesn't even rank. I can't believe they actually award money. But I can sympathize with how another person does 1/2 the work and ends up in the same place ... that always sucks (it's the same with college admissions).</p>
<p>Yeah my school weights and ranks, but the ranks are a joke every year. The difference between top ten on a 100 point scale is never more than 2.5 pts. It doesnt take into account course load, just averages, "adjusted" for difficulty. Regular course +0, "Honors" course +2, AP Course +5. It's arbirtrary and not even close to accurate, and doesnt take into account how many of these courses a person actually takes...</p>
<p>To me, it should be that honors and AP courses (when available) are out of 5. All other academic classes are out of 4s. Non-academic classes (art, band, orchestra, chorus) out of 3. That's the grades you can get, and add em all up to get the val. More courses performed at a higher level ranks top that way.</p>
<p>Not that I agree with ranking anyway. It's a wasteful thing used to create a false sense of competition, at least in my school. The three of us who took the hardest course load are ranked 3rd, 5th, and 14th. #3 is going to BU on a full scholarship. I am going to Brown. #14 is going to MIT. Our valedictorian? Fordham. Salutatorian? Hofstra.</p>
<p>It's a pointless thing.</p>
<p>Do well beacuse you want to, because you enjoy what you learn, because you're intelligent, etc. Don't do well for recognition, it's a terrible motive for learning.</p>
<p>"Non-academic classes (art, band, orchestra, chorus) out of 3."</p>
<p>So you would discourage the arts? We do the 5 for AP and honors, but every year theres someone who loses out on valedictorian because they take band. Making band a 4 hurts these people enough.</p>
<p>my school is too competitive for anyone to "count" on being valedictorian. EXPECTING to get it is very pretentious. be glad you have anything.</p>
<p>I'm with you Rabo. Unless your GPA's are completely identical, it seems like an unfair gesture. You have my sympathy at least.</p>
<p>lol, I have all of you beat. Sixteen valedictorians this year!! My school is so messed up- it artificially inflates everything to make the students look good. Example: unweighted GPA's are used to determine valedictorians, and apparently a grand total of 16 people in my class have a 4.0. However, for a certain "GPA" award for our academic awards ceremony, they used weighted GPAs for the 3.5 requirement, again resulting in a massive amount of people receiving the award. Ridiculous.</p>
<p>I'm actually tied a weighted first with this other kid in my class who doesn't even have a 4.0, so he doesn't even qualify as a valedictorian despite the fact that his courseload was so much more difficult than others'. We students tried to protest the policy last fall to no avail. I was even willing to give up my own val spot in order for there only to be one valedictorian, which everyone knows should be him.</p>
<p>My school's way of choosing a valedictorian is an election. A popularity contest. Marks don't really matter to be valedictorian at my school. If only they did, I'd have a very good chance.</p>
<p>hahah lucy, that's funny; at the beginning of this year, a really dumb girl at my school came up to me and said, "if you vote for me for homecoming queen, i'll vote for you for valedictorian." i was baffled that someone could be dumb enough to not realize the principle of valedictorain. unlike your school (whose policy is entirely absurd, in my opinion), our valedictorian is simply the student with the highest GPA. unfortunately, the kids who take hard classes (including myself) have lower GPAs than kids who take classes like woodshop and "on your own" (no joke--it's a class at my school where kids learn to cook, do laundry, clean, etc. for when they aren't living with their parents anymore)</p>