I’m relatively laid back about my grades. Typically as long as I have around an 85 percent or above in all of my classes. I’m happy with myself. But the recently release ranks for the freshman class have me conflicted.

I like and dislike the fact that we’ve received our ranks. I think that they’re a good thing because in my case, it has really motivated me to push myself and work harder. It’s not that I don’t like my rank. I’m actually quite proud of it, but I know I can do better. So, it can be a form of motivation and just that extra little push some students need to improve. But some students have taken it way too far and that’s why I’m not a fan of the ranks.

If you like your rank, don’t make others feel bad about theirs. There is a difference between telling someone your rank and bragging about it. I’ve overheard some really awful conversations, including one where a higher ranked student told a lesser ranked student they aren’t good enough. That’s really hard to hear and it’s also not true at all. Another highly ranked student lamented that if he only gotten a perfect score on an assignment, he would have moved up higher.

A rank doesn’t define your self-worth and some students feel like it does. If you’ve seen your rank and you don’t like it, don’t put yourself down. Take a positive look and know you can keep trying to improve. A rank is just a number.