My son’s school is actually still mostly white, but the top 10% is probably the most diverse group. Asians make up the largest minority group by far, followed by Hispanic, then Black (non-Hispanic), and then an extremely small group of other non-black minorities. There are certainly kids that are hyper focused on academics, and probably rank (not so much for the top 10%, but more to be one of the top two students, period, seems to be the biggest deal in our school). Still, these kids are high achievers in more areas than just academics. I’ve not run into any academically ambitious and/or high performing kids who just sat around doing nothing but hording grades for the purposes of getting into UT or A&M. I can’t even imagine the teachers in my son’s school being complicit with grade grubbing, because it is made clear, right up front, every year, for every class-- students are not allowed to ask for grade boosts, and teachers are not allowed to give them. They have very strict guidelines on re-work, and extra credit (when/if/whom it can be given to, and under what circumstances). And, the standard of performance is high, so we don’t have 50% of the kids with 4.0 unweighted GPAs. It’s HARD to get all "A"s or even mostly As in my son’s school. Not impossible, but you’re definitely going to work for it. We don’t even have 10% with 4.0s. Come to think of it, we don’t have 2.5% with 4.0s. They use weighted GPAs to calculate rank, so the kids who take the greatest risks, and the highest rigor, get the greatest rewards with regard to rank.
But, I can’t possibly have personal knowledge of the academic + extracurricular credentials of the top 10%, let alone other 700+ kids. What I do know is that when I read the newsletters, and go to banquets, and other school events, I hear about so many amazing things that these kids are up to. Not all of them are into in-school ECs. I personally know of a couple of kids who have major (and very impressive) ECs that they pursue independent of school. I know this, because I know their parents (they live in my community), and these quiet, unassuming top 10%ers are most definitely not resting on their laurels! I could see how someone who wasn’t intimately familiar with them might think that they did nothing but study, and horde grades. But, considering that most very high achievers apply to more than just UT and TAMU, and (even if they did) they frequently want to see merit awards, and want to demonstrate the aptitude and direction to gain them admission to their first choice major, I can say, with no reservation, the the group of students sitting around grade grubbing then twiddling their thumbs is a truly rare and exceptional breed of student.
Agreed! And, most high achieving kids who aspire to college want the “most rigorous courses available” box checked. So,it would certainly behoove them to select weighted classes, and to be smart enough to know that making all of the Texas Publics academic safeties (financial safety is a whole other ball of wax), at least, is a smart play. My son thrives on challenges. He doesn’t want the easy route, he’s always wanting to feel like he’s conquering something, and striving. He doesn’t achieve high to get higher in rank. He achieves high, because it’s who he is. The rank is the spoils of battle, so to speak.
I think our 3 kids are cut from would absolutely become fast friends!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is FANTASTIC NEWS!!