<p>I had a question regarding which is more important. Here is the scenario:</p>
<p>My school offers a decent number of AP classes, however you cannot start taking them until Junior year. Your schedule is pretty locked in for the first 2 years, with no AP classes available. I am, however, in an accelerated math so I took Honors math classes. In my Junior year, I signed up for 3 AP classes (the maximum I could take) but only got into 2 (AB Calc and Chemistry) . I did not apply for honors in english although I could of (my mistake, it was early). </p>
<p>For senior year there are no strict requirements for classes. I signed up for classes that were I was interested in rather than just how hard they were. Currently I am taking 2 AP Classes, along with an Independent Study in Linear Algebra because I exhausted our school's math program. I will take BC Calc in the Spring, for a total of 3 APs. I could have taken 2 more but I opted for Sports Medicine and Creative Writing, which sounded more interesting at the time. </p>
<p>I was wondering if my courses are rigorous enough for top LACs and universities, even though I have a 3.94 UW GPA (3.95 in high school, I had some A-'s in 7th and 8th grade math).</p>
<p>What do colleges value more: Rigor or GPA? It's not like I'm taking complete slacker classes, but I don't have nearly as many APs as I could have taken, or wish I had taken.</p>
<p>As you can imagine there are wide variations among high schools. To help colleges, high schools typically send a profile of the high school along with your transcript. The profile can provide colleges with various background info about high school (e.g., school’s grading policy, AP policy, ranking policy, what classes are available, etc.) Colleges will be able to assess how rigorous your schedule was/is to what’s available and where you fit in GPA wise among your classmates. Since I’m assuming first semester senior year is done and you’ve already finished applying, you’ve done what you can. At this point there’s no need to worry about what colleges consider is more important. I’d say take a deep breathe, relax and enjoy rest of senior year while you are waiting for acceptances, although I’d add don’t let grades fall off second semester. Good luck</p>
<p>Colleges look at both. I would like to think they look at it equally. Since every high school is different, colleges do take that into account. Grade weighting, course offering…in the school profile that @Jugulator20 mentions, high schools are able to mention how they operate. This gives colleges a better idea on the extent of the students’ course ability and the academic ability of the student. </p>
<p>Since you have an awkward AP policy, I really don’t think the colleges will hold it against you. Your course load seems rigorous enough. Not to mention that your GPA is very good. I’m a senior too and I learned something really important in this whole process. While you can sit back and go “I should have, could have—”, there’s nothing you can do about it now. What’s done is done so now the only thing you CAN do is see how it works out for you and hope for the best. </p>
<p>I suggest you relax and just wait for the colleges’ decisions and don’t let your grades slip! :D</p>