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What Not to Take (in High School)

by Adam Brown on May 7, 2010

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In high school, choosing classes for the upcoming year can be a fairly tedious chore. There’re so many things to consider: graduation requirements, availability, and—not least of all—how attractive those choices will appear to prospective colleges your senior year. Here’s the kicker, some of the “good” choices you think you’re making could reflect negatively on you when it comes time to apply to college. So what are the biggest mistakes high school students make when scheduling classes?

Choosing Dual Enrollment over AP Courses

Why you thought it was a good idea: What better way to show colleges how ambitious you are than to start taking college classes when you’re still in high school? Plus, you’re technically earning two credits for the price of one: a credit for high school and a transfer credit to whichever college you end up attending after graduation. That’s a win-win scenario.

Why it’s not: Dual enrollment credits may not be accepted at the college you choose; Centre is a prime example. Centre doesn’t accept college credit earned in high school because it’s difficult (if not impossible) to assess instruction quality and student performance uniformly across the map. College Board AP (Advanced Placement) courses solve this problem by offering standardized tests at the end of the academic year for students enrolled in AP courses. It’s then up to colleges to determine which scores they’ll accept for credit. As a result, AP exam scores are almost universally used for determining college credit. (Centre accepts scores of 4 or 5.)

GPA Hedging

Why you thought it was a good idea: Your grade point average is often used as the primary indicator as to what type of student you are: 4.0 Excellent, 3.0 Good, 2.0 Average, 1.0 “Hello Summer School.” So it’s natural to want to choose courses in which you’re confident you’ll perform well.

Why it’s not: Most colleges look at your GPA in context, so they know whether your course load was incredibly demanding or rather weak. Then they adjust their evaluation of your GPA accordingly. That’s not to say you should only take AP classes to prove you’re up for a challenge; if you can’t “tread water” in those demanding courses, you shouldn’t venture to the deep end. (I think you’d agree setting yourself up for failure is worse than setting yourself up for success.) But a challenging schedule in high school indicates that you’ll be ready for a challenge in college.

Elective Overload

Why you thought it was a good idea: There are a number of reasons why you may have chosen to load up on electives. Maybe you really like the subject matter, perhaps you want a break from core content, and there’s always the possibility that you needed a little GPA boost. Whatever your reason, electives seem like they might showcase your interests to selective colleges that are sorting through thousands of applications.

Why it’s not: Depending on the college, your elective classes may not have a great deal of influence on your application. In fact, some colleges recalculate applicants’ GPAs excluding elective courses because they tend to inflate the overall GPA; they really just want to know how well you performed in core content classes. This isn’t to suggest you should stop taking classes that aren’t under the math, science, English, or social studies umbrellas, but when confronted with a choice between gym and advanced biology, it would serve well to opt for the latter.

As a rule of thumb, use your best judgment and go with your gut when scheduling your classes. If you don’t trust your gastrointestinal functions to make sound decisions, consult with your guidance counselor or a trusted teacher. Even then, you leave the door open to assumption. If you need the final word on what a college is looking for, there’s no better place to seek guidance than the admission office.

  • I tend to agree with this. I went to a high school bigger than Centre. I took 3 or 4 AP courses throughout my entire time. I think too much AP classes weigh students down just as much as electives can. Through my experience though I found that my electives taught me more direct lessons such as personal interaction and real world issues.

    I feel as if my electives prepared me more for Centre than my APs ever did. I would like to think that students are more than a test score; but in reality if students do tend to dive into the "deep end" do you think that we should give them props for doing so?

    I always found it interesting if we look at student who took AP's and got all C's and a student who took honors level courses and received all A's is there a difference? Which student is better?

    My advice for rising high school students is as long as you complete your requirements and found your niche; run with it. My niche in high school was the newspaper. Wether it is sports, NHS, Rotary, or volunteering I think it is better to commit to one thing and be a leader rather a hundred things and just a member.

    College is different you learn to live and live to learn at school so sometimes it is easier to be involved in more than just one thing.
  • I'm not sure if I follow everything you're saying here, Brian. So bear with me here as I try to address some of your thoughts.

    While elective courses can be more attractive as a high school student, they aren't the primary thing schools look to when assessing a student. As I mentioned, colleges sometimes choose to remove electives from the equation to see how well a student did on core content classes. Should admission counselors give props to students who invest themselves deeply in a particular interest? Absolutely. The problem is when the interest is in gym and study hall. A student who takes several art classes to cultivate their talent is not guilty of any crime, but he student who takes several art class because it's fun or easy is. Students will know which side of the line they're on.

    Is there a difference between the student who took AP courses and got C's and the student who took honor level courses and got A's? It depends, there are so many factors to consider here. Ultimately, it's the student's responsibility to assess their skill and choose courses accordingly. No one would advocate that a low-B student in Pre-Cal sign up for AP Calculus. But, an A student in Pre-Cal perhaps should sign up for AP Calculus; it's reasonable to assume they could manage the additional challenge. The thing to keep in mind is that admission counselors don't look at grades individually. Instead, you're more likely to find that they look for grade trends. A single C is not cause for too much alarm. The C itself is unattractive, but so too is the student who jumps from bunny class to bunny class throughout their four years in high school.

    Your last comment about finding your niche is great advice. That being said, your accomplishments will reflect the time you invest. So if you're going to do the newspaper exclusively, make sure it's evident that your time is spent wisely. If you're going to pursue NHS as your primary extracurricular, make sure you go above and beyond with your service and seek out leadership rolls. Ultimately, colleges want leaders versus followers, so position yourself as such.

    None of these suggestions are formulaic, though. It's tough to plot a path and then adhere to it doggedly; flexibility is important. So as long as your drive and ambition are consistent, your choices will reflect that. Remember, success in high school is more of an attitude than a checklist.
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