Choosing High School Coursework

Course planning can be very stressful. At Collegewise, we often get questions about how to pick out “the best” high school classes. Because admissions decisions are made holistically after considering many factors, there isn’t usually a simple answer to most of the questions we get. So, in true Collegewise fashion, we created this guideline. It is designed to provide you with simple, straightforward advice that will help you understand how course selection and academic performance are viewed by admissions officers.

1. Rigor matters.

This is a big deal. The classes you choose in high school show colleges your willingness and ability to be challenged, learn new things, and continuously expand your intellectual comfort zone. There’s a balance to this too. It’s ok to stay up late doing homework once in a while, but if you have to go to bed at 3 o’clock a.m., you are probably taking it too far. Our best advice here is to choose the most challenging courses that your abilities can handle. It’s always better to get a few Bs while taking hard classes than it is to get all As taking easy ones.

Rigor comes in two forms:

-Continuation of study in the five core academic areas: English, math, science, social studies and foreign language. More core courses means a more rigorous schedule and this is good for college admissions.

-The level of your courses can also show rigor. Are they honors, accelerated, AP, IB? Higher level courses are a good thing, but you don’t have to take everything at the AP level. For highly selective colleges, many AP classes is the norm, but you can absolutely get into college without any AP courses at all. You just have to do what is right for you and take your courses at the highest level that is reasonable for you.

2. Performance matters too.

Colleges, especially the highly selective ones, want you to take difficult courses and perform well in them. If you have earned perfect grades, but there is no sign of rigor in your schedule, it does not say as much as if you did well in classes that are challenging.

3. Take your information from the source.

College websites will often have a page dedicated to telling you exactly what they expect in terms of high school preparation. Pay attention to this. Almost all colleges will want 4 years of English, but beyond that, there are differences. Do they want you to take at least 2 years of foreign language? Or 3? Or even 4? Do they expect to see at least a year of visual or performing arts? What about science? Colleges are not hiding this information. Each school will have slightly different expectations, so as you build your list, pay attention to what your colleges recommend. It does not hurt to go above and beyond what is listed; in fact, you will need to do this in order to be competitive at highly selective institutions. When you see that a course is recommended, you should try to make sure you have or will be taking it!

6. Think about your context.

People often ask us whether or not colleges know their high school is “better” or “more rigorous” than other schools. Maybe, but since students don’t generally have a lot of say about which school they attend, they are evaluated on the basis of how they use what is available to them where they are.

If your school does not have an AP or IB program, that will not be held against you. When admissions officers are reading your application, they want to see that you have challenged yourself to the greatest extent possible at your school. They will have a document in hand -called your high school profile- that tells them exactly what your school offers, so they will know if you did not have the chance to take AP courses at your school. Whether your school offers 0 or 25 AP courses, it’s always a good idea to find ways to take your learning to the next level where possible. If you love history, consider taking a summer class on George Washington at your local community college. It’s always good to seek out new opportunities to learn.

Concluding Thoughts

The best predictor of your academic success in college is your high school record. Your transcript is the single most important document included in your college applications. Even if your school does not factor 9th grade into the grade point average, many colleges do. Every year counts. There’s nothing more important than the courses you take and the grades you earn in those courses. So choose wisely!

- - - -

This guide was written by Rhiannon Schade, Director of College Counseling for Collegewise of Millburn. Rhiannon lives in Bernardsville with her husband and their little cat, Eli!

Collegewise is hosting 5 free college admissions events this winter and spring in Millburn and Summit. For more information and to register, click here.

Collegewise of Millburn is located at 356 Millburn Avenue, Suite 4. Rhiannon can be reached at 908-899-1430 or rhiannons@collegewise.com.

- - - -

P. S. Here’s an excellent (and funny) post on the Tufts Admissions Blog about choosing senior year courses.

- - - -

All content is protected under copyright by Collegewise LLC, 2015.