<p>Okay, so here's the deal. My guidance counselor recently told me that my grades in art subjects and music classes don't count when college officers look at them. She also said that classes like technical drawing and woodworking don't mater either. According to her, colleges re-do everyone's overall GPA and don't weight anything. When re-doing the GPA, they apparently remove these classes from the new GPA. Is this true? My guidance counselor has been in our school for many years. I go to the most elite school in NYC, and my guidance counselor is from Cornell and Columbia. She used to be an admissions officer before, and claims that she knows what she is talking about. </p>
<p>So should I just stop taking music classes? The only reason I took them was for the easy grade. :P</p>
<p>If the only reason you’ve taken them, and you plan to continue taking them is for the easy grade, then you would do well to stop taking them – especially since they appear to be electives in your state and in your school.</p>
<p>So do they count? Well some State Universities (or at least the California UC system requires some visual/performing art). And if you happen to take courses such as AP Studio Art then it not only counts but it may even impress. What makes a difference in how your visual and performing art courses are viewed by admission committees is if you take them because you have a passion for the subject, you take them to a deep level, and you progressively excel. That probably sounds like any other related set of courses that you may take in high school.</p>
<p>Lol, what is the most elite school in NYC, I’ve heard this debated for 30 years. Dalton, Brearley, HM, St. Anns? And there are so many more. Bottom line? I’d believe counselors at any of these schools and their peers.</p>
<p>Some colleges re-calculate GPAs, others don’t. Some will throw out non-academic grades, others won’t.</p>
<p>Top schools will have a great number of applicants with perfect or near perfect grades across the board. You’ll be competing against those kids for limited spots.</p>
<p>Most will, most won’t For example the CUNY system only cares for numbers and won’t re-calculate. I think private colleges will re-calculate GPA’s more likely. If I were you I would trust you counselor and ask her about the ivies she may know more.</p>