Honors/AP Courses vs. “Regular” Courses— The Tradeoff
Course selection during the high school years can prove to be very important in the college admissions process. Courses should be chosen carefully and thoughtfully. As a simple rule of thumb, the student should take the most challenging curriculum they can handle while still maintaining their grades! So, for example, if the student can only get a “C” in Honors English, they may be better off taking “regular” English and getting an “A”.
Why? One of the most important factors in the college admissions process is the student’s Grade Point Average (“GPA”). So getting straight “A’s” is better than struggling to get “B’s” or “C’s” in Honors or Advance Placement (AP) classes.
However, please note that many schools (especially those with a more rigorous admissions process) dig deeper into the student’s curriculum than simply looking at the GPA numbers. They are expecting to see a high GPA along with numerous honors and AP courses on the student’s transcript. So a student who maintains a high GPA along with a challenging curriculum (Honors/AP) will be looked upon more favorably than one that is less challenging. Remember, the admissions committee is trying to predict the student’s ability to handle college level course work at their school. So the more rigorous the college the more they will expect from the high school transcript.
Is the ‘weighted GPA” important?
So, a follow-up question we often receive is whether the “weighted GPA” is important? It is important because it can be a good indicator of the strength of the curriculum—however, unfortunately, not all curriculums are the same. For example, imagine that one applicant took all three AP classes offered by her high school versus another applicant taking only 3 of 15 offered. More than likely, the first applicant would be viewed more favorably.
As a result, it is our opinion that getting and maintaining the best “un-weighted” GPA is more important than getting lots “B’s” or “C’s” in Honors/AP classes. Certainly the best of all worlds is getting “A’s” in Honors/AP classes! So what should one do if that is not occurring?
Our advice is to analyze what is causing the lower grade. Can the student make adjustments to improve the grade – study more, seek teacher assistance, cut back on outside work hours, etc.? If the student is still struggling after adjustments are made, seriously consider cutting back on Honors/AP classes accordingly—not only could it help with college admissions, they may also learn more because they are not struggling to keep up.
