Do colleges consider senior year courses?

Parents Forum
1

I’m wondering if college admission is based on courses taken through junior year, or if they also consider senior year courses?

My daughter has only taken three APs so far (APES, AP Bio, AP Stats) as a junior , but because of the natural progression of her curriculum, next year she’ll be taking a couple of the more difficult AP courses - AP Calc and AP Chem. She’ll also be taking DE English, Honors Physics, and AP ComSci Principles.

She’ll be a science major, so she chose her AP courses to prepare her for that.

This year’s admissions results has me wound up especially if decisions are based only on the courses completed.

She’s not aiming for very selective colleges - only public universities. However our flagships are selective and this year was crazy. We’re putting together a college list and I just don’t know how her curriculum will be perceived. I don’t want her to waste time applying to colleges that will be unimpressed.

2

For regular admissions, most schools require a mid year senior transcript…so they will see your daughter’s senior year courses.

3

@thumper1 But won’t they also see her senior year schedule on her application? She’s considering applying ED to her top choice.

4

Most of the schools my daughter applied to wanted to know her senior year schedule and all the regular decision schools got her midterm reports. My daughter was in a similar situation just 4 APs before senior year because of when APs were offered at her high school. Keep in mind too that your high school will send in how rigorous your daughter’s schedule was compared to what your individual high school offers. Colleges do take that into account.

5

The senior year schedule will be considered for course rigor.

6

I have heard many admissions officers say that they look for a rigorous senior year schedule.

7

@momofsenior1 Yes, I’ve heard of the “most rigorous” checkbox on the Common App. Unfortunately, her GC doesn’t seem to know what that is and can’t tell me what the school standards are for checking that box or for “rating” a schedule. Even though she goes to a large school, they don’t have admissions data in Naviance either :(. That wouldn’t help much for this year, but it would have given us some idea of how many kids are normally admitted from her school. She’s got good grades (4.0 UW GPA) and is in the top 2%, so I think I would have a better sense of her options with that data.

8

They look for how rigorous the schedule is…and then they make sure you are doing well (enough) in those classes.

9

I don’t believe the course rigor was directly on the common app, but on a form that our college counselor uploaded to the application. It included all the relevant data from the high school - grading scale (atypical at dd’s school), general rank, as well as course rigor. Bummer about no Naviance but I will say there was a 10% drop in acceptances at most of the big flagship state schools for my daughter between when we checked Naviance and this year. I think you can get better info looking up the common data sets from the schools your daughter is targeting.

10

@momofsenior1 Yes, her top choice had a 20% drop in acceptances this year.

When are the most recent CDSs published? That would help, but still would tell the whole story, which would be the rigor of the GPAs in that data set.

Her GC sent me the School Profile which stated some of that info but the only info about rigor was that 24 AP classes are offered (she’s taking 6 plus one DE) and that:

2016-2017 AP TESTING RESULTS
328 (20% of the student body) Students took 671 tests with 66% passing with 3 and above and
8% scored a 5, 18% scored a 4, 30% scored a 3 **(that only adds up to 56%??)

I don’t know what that says about her. She’s part of that 20% who took an AP test that year, and was in the 18% that scored a 4. Is this information positive [she’s part of approximately 10% (or possibly lower depending whether the percentage is students or tests) of the student body that passed an AP test last year] or negative (the low percentage of kids taking/passing AP courses)?

11

@LeastComplicated

The school she applies to ED will see her courses for senior year, but will NOT see how she does…and will not use them in evaluating her admission to the school. They will use courses completed by end of junior year. If you feel she needs the consideration of her GRADES in these AP courses senior year…don’t apply ED.

Really, the schools have no way to know student course performance for ED applicants…for senior year courses. Those applications are due in October…or November…and those courses just are really ramping up.

12

Somebody with a very rigorous senior year course schedule applying ED could get deferred if the college is interested in seeing how the student does in those courses, particularly if their prior record seems not quite as rigorous.

Also, besides the admissions question, it is important to remember that offers of admission are subject to revocation should the student not finish the HS senior year in good standing.

13

The one piece of information missing from the school profile is what maximum number of AP/honors classes can be completed in four years. I wonder if the guidance counselor could add that piece as it would give a better picture of rigor.

14

It’s only good rigor for your kid if she COMPLETES those AP courses. If she applies ED. In October…there is NO WAY anyone will be able to say with certainty that she even will complete these as AP courses. We have had kids in our HS switch from AP to honors mid year…because the AP courses were just too hard. And some kids actually drop courses.

Your kid’s application for admission ED will be based on courses through 11th grade.

RD applications will include the senior year mid year progress report from the school. So they will include the senior year AP courses.

If you REALLY want those AP courses to be viewed during the admission review…apply regular decision.

My opinion.

15

When I said Rigor, I mean that the college will see that you either reported that you will be taking AP Calc AB, AP Lit, Honor Physics etc vs you will be taking CP English, 2 study periods, and Cooking class. They can also see that on your mid year transcript.

But if you said you were going to take all APs and then dropped them all, the college would still find out when they saw your final transcript and they could rescind admissions.
that is why if you need to drop a class you shoudl tell the college.

When you apply the GC sends a School Profile. It might look something like this:

A member of the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and
Technology (NCSSSMST), H.T.H.S. has been described by the U.S. Dept. of Education as a “benchmark school.”
It went on to say the school “evidences that its approach embraces student, faculty, staff, and administration alike in a mission of excellence, requiring the most of, and providing the most to, all who enter there.”Accreditation: Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools & NJ Department of Education

CLASS OF 2009 62 Graduates

Four Year College → 100%

NMSQT/PSAT 31 Commended → 9 Semi-Finalists/Finalists → 3 Winners
SAT I Mean Scores: 685 (Critical Reading), 725 (Math), 680 (Writing)
AP Exams 100% tested, 151 total exams taken, 94.7% scoring 3 or above
AP Courses Biology, Calculus (AB, BC), Chemistry, Physics C, Statistics

Grading System
All courses at HTHS are taught at the Honors level and grades are therefore not weighted or inflated.
92-100 (A) = Superior Proficiency
85-91 (B) = Above Average Proficiency
77-84 © = Proficient
70-76 (D) = Partial Proficiency
55-69 (F) = Not Proficient/No Credit

Class Rank
The majority of our students earn grades that are exemplary. Each year a large percentage of the senior class receives Semi-Finalist or Commended Status on the NMSQT. We believe that our students’ levels of achievement are not fully communicated by using class rank as a singular transcript statistic. High Technology High School policy, therefore, precludes reporting of class rank.

Course of Study – Class of 2009
Note: Course titles in italics or underlined are courses taught with an integrated curriculum.
Note: 160 credits must be accumulated in order to graduate.
Freshman Classes
Biology 6 Credits
Computer Applications 5 Credits
Introduction to Engineering Design 5 Credits*
English 1 5 Credits
World History 5 Credits
World Language 5 Credits
(French, Spanish or Latin)
Health/Physical Education 4 Credits
Mathematics 5 Credits
(Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2/Trig)
Research/Data Analysis/Guidance 3 Credits

Sophomore Classes
Computer Integrated Manufacturing 5 Credits*
Principles of Engineering 5 Credits*
Physics 6 Credits
English 2 5 Credits
United States History 1 5 Credits
World Language 5 Credits
(French, Spanish or Latin)
Health/Physical Education 4 Credits
Mathematics 5 Credits
(Geometry, Algebra 2/Trig, PreCalculus)
Research2/Data Analysis2/Guidance 3 Credits

Junior Classes
Chemistry/AP Chemistry 6 Credits
English 3 5 Credits
United States History 2 5 Credits
World Language 5 Credits
(French, Spanish or Latin)
Health/Physical Education 4 Credits
Mathematics 5/6 Credits
(Algebra 2/Trig, PreCalculus, AP Calculus BC)
Effective Speech 3 College+
Technology Options:
i. CADD at Brookdale CC 11 College+
ii. Computer Programming at BCC 8 College+
iii. Digital Electronics 8 Credits*
Engineering Physics 2 Credits
iii. Civil Engineering & Architecture 8 Credits*
Engineering Physics 2 Credits

Senior Classes
AP Biology, AP Chemistry, or AP Physics 6 Credits
English 4 5 Credits++
Mathematics 5/6 Credits
(Pre-Calculus, Calculus, AP Calculus AB,
AP Calculus BC, Multivariable Calculus)
Mentorship 5 Credits
Current Global Issues (elective) 5 Credits
Environmental Science (elective) 5 Credits
World Language (elective) 5 Credits#
(French, Spanish, or Latin)
Health/Physical Education 3 College+
AP Statistics (elective) 5 Credits
Technology Options:
i. CADD at Brookdale CC 4 College+
ii. Computer Programming at BCC 4 College+
iii. Engineering Design & Development 5 Credits

  • Appear on a college transcript issued by
    Brookdale Community College
    ++ Students may elect to apply for college credit via
    Brookdale Community College
  • Students may elect to apply for college credit via
    Rochester Institute of Technology

Students may elect to apply for college credit via

Georgian Court University (in Spanish only).
^ Includes Mentorship

16

All 6 of the schools that my son applied to asked for the senior schedule (he did not use the common app). They also asked to be notified if anything in his senior schedule changed. He applied EA to 5 of the 6 and 1 RD.

17

@lastone03

My kid applied to two EA schools and one rolling. Applications sent by October 15 of her senior year in HS. The on,y thing the adcoms had for her senior year was a list of the courses she was taking…including two AP courses.

She got accepted to all.

But her transcript up to that point was equally strong.

18

^ this information is needed, as well as what percentage take one AP total, what % take 2-3 total, what % take 4-6 total, what % take more than 6.

Universities may use one of two systems:

  • grades through 11th grades + senior year rigor (12th grade grades don’t count as long as they’re not C, D, F).
    OR
  • grades through 12th grade 1st quarter, term, or semester + course rigor through senior year (in that case, 12th grade grades matter a lot.)
19

Not knowing your daughters prior schedule things seem a little different to me. AP stats typically is a senior class . AP Comp.science is typically not a senior class. Did she take two math classes junior year? APES is supposedly the easiest AP science class so I tend to agree with the poster who suggested not going early decision because overall senior classes seem more difficult than junior classes

20

@Nicki20 My daughter’s school allowed some juniors to take AP stats if they wanted to double up in math or if they were way ahead in the sequence. My daughter took it junior year along with H pre-calc.