_{Fostering Community Service}

IWA provides an atmosphere that fosters generosity, tolerance, service to community and respect for all. Students are required to contribute 24 hours of volunteer service per year. Often, what begins, as a requirement becomes a personal commitment. Many students do much more than the required six hours each quarter. Among such services are the following:

_{Church Service}

• Altar servers
• Choir members
• Eucharistic ministers
• Lectors
• Teacher assistants in CCD programs
• Volunteers at Vacation Bible School

_{Service to the Community}

• Feeding the homeless on weekends
• Christmas stocking giveaways
• Food drives
• Participating in Beach Clean-up Project
• Volunteering at Driscoll Children’s Hospital
• Working at the Mother Theresa Shelter
• Working with Coastal Bend Blood Center

_{Service to the Elderly}

• Visiting nursing homes, reading and writing letters for the elderly
• Volunteering as grocery assistant
• Volunteering to cut grass and lawn care maintenance

_{Campus Volunteer Service}

• Tutoring peers and elementary school children
• Working at IWA events held on nights/weekends

Rank
Incarnate Word Academy does not rank our students below the top 10 percent.

What does nonranking mean for students?

It means a student's potential is not automatically determined based on rank alone.

The absence of a ranking number on a student's college application requires the college to make a holistic assessment of the student's application and potential based on the entire application package including courses, grade point average, essays, SAT/ACT scores, activity resume, and more.

Does the holistic review of their application benefit our students?

Yes, holistic application review is beneficial for all of our students and especially those who might have been overlooked based on their ranking.

Students benefit when their entire application packet is reviewed so that various attributes and accomplishments such as courses taken, overall GPA, application essays, sports, extra-curricular activities, leadership roles, community involvement, awards, and letters of recommendation are all considered by the college in determining a student's potential. With holistic review, students, who might otherwise have been overlooked with a ranking system, are able to rise to the top in college acceptance consideration.

Does nonranking hurt the students who would have qualified for top 10 percent automatic admission?

No, these students are still eligible for top 10 percent automatic admission.

Our high school counselors meet with the students who actually rank in the top 10 percent of the class at the beginning of their senior year. These students are given the "Notification of Eligibility for Automatic College Admission" letter as provided by TEA (Texas Education Agency). So while these students know they are in the top 10 percent, they do not know where they specifically rank. Their rank statement is sent directly to the school where they are applying.

What happens if a rank number is required for a scholarship or military application?

The High School Level registrar provides the student's actual internal rank directly to the application source so the requirement is fulfilled without the student knowing his/her actual rank.

Will the top 10 students in the class still be able to walk in first for the high school graduation?

Yes, this time honored tradition will be upheld and the students who will process in front of the class at graduation will be notified after third quarter grades are issued.

Are there other high schools that have stopped ranking students?

Because it benefits the students and increases their ability to gain college acceptance, nonranking is a growing trend.

The following top schools in Texas do not rank students:

• Westlake HS-Eanes ISD — Austin
• Highland Park HS — Dallas
• Round Rock
• The Kinkaid School — Houston
• Ursuline Academy — Dallas
• St. Pius X — Houston
• Coppell ISD
• St. Agnes Academy — Houston

Do the high school counselors endorse nonranking?

Our High School Level counselors whole-heartedly endorse nonranking and have seen the benefits from it first hand in the graduating class of 2019 including:

• 44% of students accepted to Texas A&M University.
• 33% of students accepted to The University of Texas at Austin.
• Over $10.3 million in scholarship offers for the Class of 2019 (62 students).
• 100% of IWA graduates are accepted into colleges and universities.