The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Your High School Courses
Although it is only February, high school students around the country are already planning for the next school year by registering for their classes.
When considering which classes to register for, it is essential to know that a student’s transcript will be the most important piece of a college application. A high school transcript is a complete record of the classes a student has taken, along with the grades they have received in those courses. Students will be required to share a high school transcript at some point in almost every college application.
Why do colleges care so much about the transcript?
Colleges want to ensure that a student has taken at least the minimum admission requirements. These courses are not necessarily the same as what a high school may require a student to take in order to graduate. Most colleges want to see a student taking more than the minimum required to graduate. For example, many high schools do not require students to take a foreign language to graduate. However, many colleges expect applicants to have taken a minimum of two to three years of the same foreign language.
Beyond the minimum requirements, colleges will often share what they recommend a student takes. We suggest a student aims for the recommended courses since doing so will make for a more competitive applicant. You can be certain most other applicants will be taking the recommended coursework.
Required and recommended high school coursework can usually be found on each college’s website. It is important to check this information for each school a student will be applying to since some colleges have requirements you wouldn’t expect. For instance, the University of California universities require a full year of fine art, where most high schools outside of the State of California only require one semester, and some don’t even require any.
It is important to note that when a college reviews a student’s transcript, they are not simply looking at the number of A’s or overall GPA. There are usually two types of GPA: unweighted and weighted. An unweighted GPA includes all coursework taken during high school and does not give additional weight to honors or AP classes. On the other hand, a weighted GPA considers the rigor of AP, IB, and honors courses, and AP, IB, and honors courses are given an additional point when calculating the GPA.
If a high school does not weight GPAs, do not worry. Colleges will understand and will review an applicant based on their particular situation. Since each high school may have a different method for calculating GPA, many colleges recalculate GPA according to their own formula anyway.
Besides just taking the basic classes that are required or recommended, students should also consider the level of rigor they can include in their course load—colleges like students to challenge themselves within what is available to them. If a student’s high school only offers a few honors or AP courses, colleges won’t compare that student directly to someone whose school offered 20 honors and AP options.
The big question we get every year is: “Is it is better to get an A in a regular level course or a B in an honors course?” If you ask a college this question, they will usually laugh and say they want A’s in honors courses. The plain truth, though, is that all A’s with no rigor won't help a student get admitted into a highly selective school, and all honors with B’s and C’s won’t help a student's admissions chances for a highly selective school either. Here is where a student needs to find the right balance of challenge for themself. A student should not take too many rigorous courses if they cannot keep up with any of them. Check out our previous blogs, Rigor in the High School Curriculum - AP or No AP? and Everything You Need to Know About Advanced Placement for more information on choosing AP courses.
Highly selective colleges and universities will place much more weight on what classes you choose to take during high school. If you are thinking about applying to a very selective college or university, you need to be taking the highest level of classes offered at your high school. Ivy League and similarly selective colleges will expect the highest level of classes offered at a student’s high school in all academic areas regardless of what major that student is applying to.
The transcript review is not as objective as one may think due to the differences in courses offered at each school. Most colleges will have regional admissions officers assigned to particular areas who are experts in the graduation requirements at high schools within their regions and know which classes are considered easiest and what overall curriculum is available at the high school. A school profile provides colleges with academic context and is very helpful to admissions officers reviewing applications. Most high schools will have the school profile somewhere on their website, and it is common practice that the high school sends the school profile along with the transcript to colleges. Here is an example of a high school profile to help you understand what the colleges are seeing about your high school.
Note that in addition to the courses offered, the school profile can show the range of GPAs, and even if the high school doesn’t rank their students, they may share a table letting an admissions officer get an idea of where a student may fall if the school did rank.
Beyond the requirements to graduate and the college’s requirements and recommendations, students should also determine where there is room to try out new electives or take classes that align with their interests or career goals. A student does not need to know what they want to major in exactly, but if there are some areas of interest in mind, they should use high school electives to learn more about them and demonstrate passion for exploring those areas of study. For instance, a student considering a major in graphic design should look for design or art classes. Taking electives can show admissions committees that you are thinking ahead and already preparing for your collegiate life as a particular major. Keep in mind that filling your schedule with electives that are honors classes, however, will not replace core academic classes at the honors level, so don’t just take an elective because you think it will boost your GPA.
When senior year rolls around, most high school students are exhausted. While planning a relaxed course load for senior year is tempting, now is not the time to take it easy. Admissions committees want to see continued or increased rigor in a senior year class schedule. When reviewing applications, colleges will look at the classes a student takes as a senior even if they don’t see grades yet.
The ideal rule of thumb is to aim for four years of all five core academic courses (English, math, science, social studies, foreign language). With this in mind, a student should look back at the last three years of high school and assess if they are on pace to meet or exceed this goal.
For instance, some students may max out their foreign language or math after junior year. If this is the case, a student should work with their high school counselor to see if a community college or online school can provide the next level. Another option may be to double up in another core subject. For instance, if a student is interested in a science major and has finished the foreign language options offered at their high school, they can take AP Chemistry and AP Biology or AP Biology and Anatomy & Physiology. Keep in mind that even though most applications are submitted before any senior year grades are available, a college may ask for first term (quarter or semester) grades before they make a final admissions decision. So while it may seem wise to take all very rigorous classes senior year, a student will still have to balance the coursework to ensure they can be successful and proud to share those senior year grades with a college.
If your student needs assistance selecting classes for the next school year, please reach out to us at info@nscollegeconsulting.net or (847) 780-3181 to see how we can help.