High School Courses

One of the biggest components of the college application is the transcript: a list of the final grades from all courses taken in high school. But the admissions officer isn’t just looking at the number next to each course title, but also the actual titles. To the admissions officer, the kinds and difficulty of the courses matters as well.

College prep, honors, AP/IB…

High schools generally offer two levels of each core course: college prep and honors. Advanced courses (like 3rd year English or physics) may also be have an AP or IB option. Typically, college prep courses are easier than honors level courses, which in turn are easier than AP/IB courses. This is because AP/IB and honors courses cover the subject matter in much greater depth than compared to college prep courses.

College admissions officers want to see high grades on the transcript, but they also like seeing difficult courses. This raises an interesting dilemma for many students: should you take easier courses and earn higher grades OR take harder courses and risk lower grades?

The answer: take harder classes and earn higher grades!

Though ironic, the rule of thumb is to take as difficult courses as you can reasonably manage. While at first you will seem overwhelmed, the “Honors” or “AP” label in the course title will pay off with the admissions officer reading your application. Often, slightly lower grades in an AP level course is okay, especially considering the greater depth of knowledge you receive in an AP course versus a college prep course.

Keep it balanced

This being said, you shouldn’t take all APs and IBs throughout high school, with no regard to extracurriculars, sports, or social life. Admissions officers don’t like to see students who are entirely focused in one particular area. A balance between grades, extracurriculars, and social life is essential, though you should have a “spike” or clearly apparent interest in one area. If you are heavily involved in extracurricular activities, engaged in extensive volunteering, or plan to be an NCAA recruited athlete, then it is acceptable to take lower-level courses. Remember, your application needs to be the best it can be both in the classroom and outside it.

Additionally, don’t focus on one specifc kind of course. That is, don’t take exclusively technology courses and leave out history courses. Your transcript should reflect a well-rounded education. The majority of colleges and universities (and all of the Ivy League schools) are liberal arts focused. This means that the college curriculum is distributed in different subject areas: mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, foreign language, etc. As the college curriculum is well-rounded, so too should be your high school education.

Of course, you should tailor your selection of high school courses to what college major(s) you have in mind. At the same time, keep in mind your plans and desires can change dramatically as you progress through your high school career.

GPA

There are two main types of GPA (grade point average) that colleges ask for: unweighted and weighted. Calculating the unweighted GPA depends only on the final grade and the number of credit-hours. Calculating the weighted GPA also takes into account the difficulty of the course (AP/IB/honors/college prep). The scale on which your GPA (whether weighted or unweighted) is dependent on your school. Colleges typically don’t mind whether you report an unweighted or weighted GPA. The higher your GPA is, the higher the tier of schools you can reasonably apply for. (It should be noted that very few, if any, schools impose an absolute “minimum” required GPA, however the majority of students admitted have a GPA above a certain value. It is highly unlikely to be admitted to Princeton with a 2.0 GPA).