Basketball

The varsity basketball team lost their district semifinal game last Wednesday, ending their season. Raytown High School defeated the stars 56-55 by scoring a three-point shot in the last 10 seconds of overtime.

“We were all so sad [when we lost at districts],” varsity player, senior Kelsie Fiss said. “It didn’t go our way that day. It was just frustrating that it was so close.”

According to coach Doug Nelson, the team’s record was 10-16 and won five of their last seven games. The end of the season was when the team started playing well, according to Fiss.

“I think we really started to click and play well as a team [during the post season],” Fiss said. “We started to understand and execute what [Coach Doug Nelson] wanted us to do.”

According to Fiss, the beginning of the season was not nearly as successful.

“[The beginning of the season] was disappointing,” Fiss said. “There were a lot of games that we could have won that didn’t go our way.”

Overall, Fiss believed that season was progressively successful.

“The team has gone through so much improvement,” Fiss said. “That is why it is so sad that it ended because it would have been fun to see us keep improving.”

Dance Team

The dance team was rewarded second place at the State competition on Feb 27. According to captain, senior Rebecca Oyler, the team was happy with the third place hip-hop and second place jazz finishes but felt pessimistic at their overall chances at placing.

“We weren’t sure [if we would place once we found out the results of our performances],” Oyler said. “But we were definitely disheartened.”

According to Oyler, when it was announced that STA received second place, the team was hysterical.

“When we knew we got second, we all started hugging each other and crying,” Oyler said. “It was so exciting.”

The dance team’s successful state competition reflected their season. The team competed in three other competitions and placed in the top three at all of them.

“Oh yeah [it was a great way to end the season],” Oyler said. “We had been building up to this all year.”

Swim Team

The swim team finished 28th out of the 58 schools that competed at the State meet on Feb. 20. According to freshman Rosie Hutchison, the outcome was especially exciting because STA had never placed at State.

“It was definitely [a good way to end the season],” Hutchison said. “It was like beyond anyone’s expectations. STA has never really had a very good swim team, it’s not like soccer or volleyball.”

Not only was it the first time an STA team placed, but it was the first time that anyone advanced to the second day, which is when the final races occur. Hutchison was the only indivudual to advance but both of STA’s relay teams also advanced. Hutchison placed individually, receiving 12th in the 100 meter Butterfly.

Hutchison contributes some of the success at State to all of the swim team members that weren’t swimming but traveled to St. Peter’s Rec-Plex in St. Peter’s, Missouri to support the team.

“Yeah, the best part [of State was everyone who came to support us],” Hutchison said. “So many people got to come and they were all cheering us on and congratulating us. It was so fun to get to share the experience with them.”

Amidst the chaotic and massive amounts of paperwork of a college application lies one small blank: class rank. At this spot, most STA students will draw a blank and for good reason. STA has not used class rank for many years.

In a ranking system, all students in a particular class are placed in order according to their grade point average (GPA). According to the College Board, “Most large state universities… still require applicants to report class rank (as do many scholarship programs), and rely on it to help sort through the high volume of applications received.”

If colleges utilize it, why shouldn’t STA rank? Ms. Bridget Gramling, dean of admission at William Jewell College, explains that it is often unnecessary.

“It depends on the college,” Gramling said. “I’ve worked at three private schools, and it wasn’t important at all at two of them. Because Jewell has traditionally attracted kids from public high schools, they used it more until recently. But a student who comes from a school that doesn’t rank isn’t hurt by that.”

STA college counselor Debi Hudson argues that discarding the ranking system was best for students because it forces the colleges to take a closer look at the individual.

STA’s administration discontinued the ranking system in 1994 and, according to principal for academic affairs Barbara McCormick, it has not hindered any student from being accepted to their college of choice.

“I would not be in favor of ever returning to class rank,” Hudson said. “I want colleges to look closer at the curriculum a student chooses to take instead of some magical rank that varies from year to year.”

Though colleges do not base their admissions decision on class rank, the type of students they admit is often reflected in their average ranking statistics.  Below, a few colleges of varying size illustrate this:

MU: Nearly 33% ranked in the top 10% of their high school class

Creighton: 29% ranked in the top 5% of their high school class; 44% ranked in the top 10%

Notre Dame: 71% ranked in the top 5% of their high school class; 89% ranked in the top 10%

Hudson and McCormick agree that if college admissions officers analyze the student more closely without class rank, then it is best to do without.

“I feel the way we’re doing it benefits our students because they’re looked at more closely,” McCormick said. “It makes [admissions officers] have to shift gears; instead of looking at numbers, they have to look at the individual.”

The College Board website has other opinions as to why schools have dropped class rank.

“Most small, private and/or competitive high schools have done away with it because they feel it penalizes many excellent students who are squeezed out of the top 10 percent of the class and then overlooked by elite schools,” said an article on the website entitled “Class Rank & College Admissions.”

When schools do not rank, colleges can easily compensate because so many schools are moving away from the system.

“Colleges are so used to schools not ranking so it’s really not an issue to most admission offices,” Hudson said. “High schools typically send a profile of the school with each transcript. Our profile states that we do not rank and it provides a bar graph after the 6th semester of work so colleges can get a feel for the rigor of the school.”

According to Gramling, rank is only a small piece of the puzzle. She said they first review the curriculum, grades, standardized test scores, and essay.

“Rank is a tiny piece of the application that, if it’s there, can help us to make a good decision about your file, but it doesn’t worry us if it’s missing,” Gramling said. “We look at the percentage of students who are going to college, which gives us insight into the type of [high school] you attend. We look at grade distributions when they’re provided by the school.”

Although colleges do not require class rank, Gramling points out some positives in using the system.

“It gives us insight into the school and the student’s abilities,” Gramiling said. “When you’re looking at kids applying from schools all over the country, any information that helps you to gauge the preparation of the student is helpful.”

Therefore, in Gramling’s opinion, ranking students does have some benefits, but is not necessary for admission into college. As far as the McCormick and Hudson are concerned, STA will not return to the ranking system anytime soon.

“Students that come to St. Teresa’s Academy come motivated, they want to achieve, the don’t need rank to drive them,” McCormick said.

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