High School doesn’t indicate taking honors courses on transcript

Parents Forum
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I have just come to find out that my daughters High school does not differentiate between honors courses and regular courses on the high school transcript. She is extremely upset by this as she is in her freshman year and has taken Honors Bio and Honors Algebra II. She is scheduling for next year and is torn on what to take. She had planned on taking honors geometry and honors chem, but now she’s questioning that because if the end up being a little difficult and she gets a B+ Or an A-, where as if she would have taken the regular course she’d likely receive an A+, it’s going to make her look worse to college admissions because there is no way for them to know she they were honors courses.
She also plans to apply to some Guaranteed Admissions Programs for pre-Med and they require you to take your high schools highest academic rigor, which is what she’s trying to do, but it won’t look that way if her transcript shows no honors courses. We are so confused.
Do other high schools indicate honors courses on their transcript?? I’m so confused and frustrated as to why this wouldn’t be indicated.

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Our HS does indicate both Honors and AP on transcripts unless you took that class as a middle school student. I think that is the only exception.

Our girls were very upset by this because all three took high school level Honors World History and Biology in middle school.

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This is something to take up with the district’s central office-- you have enough time to get this policy changed, not just for your D but for everyone!

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I have two comments about this. Are you sure the official transcript sent to colleges doesn’t have that information? At my D’s HS the transcript/grades sent to parents every quarter looked different than the official transcript.

Secondly, just a reminder that the point of taking high rigor in HS is not just to have a more competitive application to submit to colleges, but for the student to actually be more prepared to be successful in college.

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Also, the school counselor will be rating your student’s courses in their letter. They indicate if the student has taken the most challenging courses…or not. So if your student decides not to…they won’t get a shout out for taking the most challenging courses offered.

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I would assume that colleges will see the rigor of your schedule, one way or another (actual transcript, counselor recommendation, “other information you want to share” portion of the app). Don’t take a light schedule because you think it won’t matter. It will.