<p>If somebody has a full schedule of academic periods (no photography or anything like that), does that qualify as rigorous course rigor? Or are they specifically looking for college classes like honors/AP's?</p>
<p>If your school offers them, then it includes honors/AP. Your HS GC will be asked to mark on the SSR whether you took the ‘most demanding, very demanding, demanding’ etc. coursework relative to other students in your school.</p>
<p>I know it includes them, but is it exclusive to them?</p>
<p>A full schedule with no electives or study periods is not what makes a courseload rigorous. Here, the whole is the sum of its parts: taking actual high level classes matters.</p>
<p>A rigorous courseload depends both on what other students take and have taken at your high school and the content of the specific courses you are taking. It means taking the top level classes your school has to offer. The content also matters. For instance, generally, AP science w/lab and math classes are seen as more difficult and intensive than other classes. For instance, AP Chemistry is more rigorous than AP Psychology because it involves more work (and additional work for the lab component). It all depends on your school. </p>
<p>Also, it depends on what you can take. For instance, at some schools, they have rigorous pre-requisites for AP classes. This severely limits the number of AP classes you can take. For instance, you may have to take regular chemistry and honors chemistry before you get to AP Chem. These pre-requisites force you to fill classtime and thus, you can’t do the pre-reqs for a lot of APs. This limits the number of APs you can take compared to a student from another school. But it is the most rigorous course load you can take at your school.</p>
<p>A rigorous courseload doesn’t always imply a bunch of AP classes. They could be honors or IB classes, or maybe your school doesn’t offer AP’s (e.g. “US history” or “psychology” at the AP level, but no AP exam required). Many courses go beyond AP courses, such as multi-variable calculus, advanced Chinese, real/complex analysis (the latter may be too difficult for most HS students).</p>
<p>Rigor is always in comparison to what your school offers, and what your school defines as rigorous. At some schools, that’s lots of APs. At others, it’s not. If you are concerned, go talk to your guidance counselor. They are the ones who fill out the college app form evaluating your academic rigor.</p>