<p>"It was to stop "deadline creep" from rendering the senior year irrelevant."</p>
<p>I wonder if most colleges are aware of how many students this affects. Many students are permitted by their high schools only incremental enrollment in AP's, for example, with actually the senior year weighted more heavily in AP's than the junior year -- resulting in loss of weighting credit for the GPA, loss of reporting on the exams, etc. Some h.schools have strict guidelines on AP's & even Honors classes -- putting a ceiling on those for each yr. Other schools have prereqs for AP's (which I support). No, AP's aren't everything, as we all know, but they could make a difference in some admissions results for some students. In our school some of the most interesting classes, & some unique classes, are offered only to seniors. These are the classes that allow them to "show their intellectual stuff" in ways that standard (or even AP) classes do not. They are senior electives only.</p>