# What was your High School Class Rank? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767 "2012-12-02T16:44:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/41 "2012-12-02T21:17:23Z")
At my school, valedictorian was an elected position, so I’m not sure what it means here. ---
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/42 "2012-12-02T21:19:07Z")
> [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](#): > > At my school, valedictorian was an elected position, so I’m not sure what it means here. In actual schools, and not intellectual wastelands or prisons, valedictorian refers to the first in a graduating class, in terms of GPA. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/43 "2012-12-02T21:24:03Z")
> [@IceQube](#): > > In actual schools, and not intellectual wastelands or prisons, valedictorian refers to the first in a graduating class, in terms of GPA. Well, that was unnecessary. Thanks for the answer you added as an afterthought. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/44 "2012-12-02T21:30:25Z")
Seems like I was number 5, but I know I was in the top 10. Graduating class of about 250. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/45 "2012-12-02T21:32:02Z")
#1. But there was only six of us. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/46 "2012-12-02T22:14:19Z")
No idea. I dropped out my junior year, and I’m pretty sure I had a GPA of like, 1. But somehow I managed to keep passing grades despite doing no work at all and often barely attending class, because I could ace tests. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/47 "2012-12-03T01:32:54Z")
Somewhere between 4th and 9th out of 150. I only know this because they also recognized those graduating with Distinction and Great Distinction (over 90 and over 95). I was lucky though, my high school counted Comp Sci as one of the core sciences for calculating averages. Most places only recognize Physics, Bio and Chem. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/48 "2012-12-03T02:09:01Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Oooo-kay, this one is a sore spot with me. As we neared graduation we had a graduating class of exactly 400. > > Two months before graduation, a girl had twins, her dad kicked her out of the house, and in short she had bigger problems than finishing the school year… so she dropped out and we had a graduation class of 399. > > Of which I was ranked 40th. So I was no longer in the top ten percent. I understand. I was putting together applications for college and was top 10%. One Counselor tells me that she wasn’t sure if a few kids would graduate, and maybe I wouldn’t end up top 10%. She didn’t want to pump me up, or it could “hurt the school’s reputation.” Bitch - I was the first kid in 2 years to even apply to a top ranked school. I took the paperwork away from her, and took it to a different counselor. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/49 "2012-12-03T02:50:56Z")
My class rank was high, but out of 70 people at Fuckoff Rural Area High School, Pennsyltucky, PA, I’m not exactly bragging. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![pabstist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@pabstist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pabstist)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/50 "2012-12-03T03:03:03Z")
I was 68th out of 72, but only one of two to get a masters degree since graduating 21 years ago. Us in the bottom five played poker during graduation ceremony. Not at home, but in the actual festivity. Which was at Tanglewood. So I guess it’s even more mentionable that I’ve played poker on stage at Tanglewood in front of a live audience. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/51 "2012-12-03T05:22:37Z")
Our school didn’t rank us. Out of about 500 students, I was one of 15-20 or so who had a 5.0 from weighted AP grades. (I did however, have the distinction of receiving a scholarship for having the highest cumulative grades in science in my class. And then I went on to major in creative writing.) ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/52 "2012-12-03T05:46:42Z")
I selected “Can’t remember” because it was the option closest to the truth, but honestly, I’m pretty sure I never knew TO forget. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/53 "2012-12-03T05:54:19Z")
Haven’t a clue. Not that it mattered, because I dropped out during my senior year. 870-odd in my class… ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/54 "2012-12-03T06:54:39Z")
Is class clown a rank? ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/55 "2012-12-03T07:08:24Z")
#3 of ~300. I had perfect marks (all A’s) but did not take as many “weighted” classes as #1 or #2. #1 actually had a B in Calculus, but she tried to take every weighted class she could so she had the highest GPA. I was supposed to be salutatorian and wrote a speech to give at graduation, but #2 passed me by taking more weighted classes the last semester. The school superintendent actually read my speech for me at graduation. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/56 "2012-12-03T16:16:51Z")
I went to a fairly prestigious high school, and since almost all the students were very smart guys by definition, the school administration never kept or revealed class ranks. That said, most of us had a pretty decent idea where we stood… and while I didn’t answer the poll, I’d guess I was in or around the middle of the pack, in a graduating class of about 125. I probably could have been anywhere from #45 to #80. ---
**Author:** ![geneb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e4f/32.png) [@geneb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geneb)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/57 "2012-12-03T16:37:23Z")
I don’t recall ever knowing this, much less remembering it for 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/58 "2012-12-03T16:46:16Z")
> [@Wolverine](#): > > #3 of ~300. I had perfect marks (all A’s) but did not take as many “weighted” classes as #1 or #2. #1 actually had a B in Calculus, but she tried to take every weighted class she could so she had the highest GPA. I was supposed to be salutatorian and wrote a speech to give at graduation, but #2 passed me by taking more weighted classes the last semester. The school superintendent actually read my speech for me at graduation. The #3 person my senior year was always asking me about my grades. ‘‘I’m right behiiind you,’’ she would say. Some people are intense about that kind of stuff. I mean, I really wanted to hang on to my spot, but I never wanted it so bad I would root for other people to fail. We didn’t have weighted grading. One of our valedictorians took easy classes and the other one had a bunch of AP classes and had won some chemistry award for research… just wildly different qualifications, so I guess I see why some schools weight their grading. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/59 "2012-12-03T17:40:08Z")
> [@pabstist](#): > > Us in the bottom five played poker during graduation ceremony. Not at home, but in the actual festivity. Which was at Tanglewood. So I guess it’s even more mentionable that I’ve played poker on stage at Tanglewood in front of a live audience. During our graduation ceremony, the honor students (of which I was one!) were sitting in the front row. We played poker with a pinochle deck! That’s the IMPORTANT stuff you need to tell your kids and grandkids! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767/60 "2012-12-03T19:01:24Z")
I was 5th of around 200 graduating seniors. It probably should have been higher, but I had several teachers that hated me and took it out in their grading. I wasn’t allowed to be part of the formal graduation because I refused to shake hands with the principal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-high-school-class-rank/642767.md?page=4)