<p>From what I have read, one of the most important categories for admissions is "academic potential." What are some ways admissions officers are able to gauge one's academic potential?</p>
<p>A lot of schools judge it by seeing the level of courses you take. For example, you might have straight A’s and a 4.0, but if you’re taking all basic-level classes while your school is offering an array of AP/IB and Honors classes, they might as be impressed with you as with a student who has a 3.8 at your school, but is taking a lot more AP/IB/H classes, and gets mostly A’s and maybe a few B’s in those classes.</p>
<p>Basically, they want to see if you can rise up to the challenge, and still perform well.</p>