<p>Hi, I am new to this forum and does not know much about college application yet. My son started high school this year. How important is choosing honor class versus regular class? He takes 3 honor classes this year and is especially struggling with math. Would it be better off to have a A in regular Math than a B in honor math?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Personally I think it’s better to have a B in an honors class as opposed to an A in a standard class. It shows that your son is challenging himself.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>I’ll add this. I can’t speak to a specific HS’s Honors courses but AP courses are “supposed” to be equivalent to a college course. What this tells me is that if someone gets a “A or B” in an AP course they are capable of doing “A or B” work in college. If they get a “C” then I would question their preparedness. However, if someone gets an A in a regular HS level course it really doesn’t tell the school much about their ability to be successful at the college level just that they are competent at doing HS level work. I would surmise that the more selective the university the more likely that not taking the most rigorous courses would place you at a disadvantage to most of the other applicants. At most instate public universities it would be less of an issue for acceptance but might be for scholarships. By the way this is just an opinion based on the way I would view a transcript.</p>
<p>Depends on what type of college that you son is aiming for. For a tippy top, USNWR top 25 college, it should be the most rigorous schedule possible as defined by your guidance counselor’s internal system. If it is for public state colleges, then it depends on the system. For instance, in the Univ of CA system, many of the freshman “honors” classes, while called “honors” at the HS level, are NOT considered "honors by the UC system. So you can look up the HS and the HS class to determine if the “Honors” is really considered “Honors” by the colleges. If it’s not, then there is no GPA bump for taking this so-called “honors” course. </p>
<p>This is something for your son to discuss with his guidance counselor. It is better to master the material presented, especially in math where the next year’s material often builds on previous material than to stay in an honors class just for the resume. Your son’s HS GC should know the differences in the two types of math and which will benefit your son the most.</p>
<p>Always look at classes with the learning in mind, not how it will look on the record. Sometimes it is good to be challenged and stretch yourself. Other times it is best to not be chronically frustrated or feeling behind. You want your son to get the best foundation of knowledge and skills in HS. The grades will follow what is learned. Taking the most rigorous classes that he can learn from is good, but not struggling in classes is also good.</p>
<p>Some elite colleges do not even look at freshman year of HS grades. Others will look at trends- a poor freshman year followed by much better sophomore and junior years shows maturity gained. </p>
<p>He should take honors courses in the subjects he likes and is good at. To just take as many honors courses as possible for some future college game is a distortion of the high school experience.</p>
<p>I second the opinion that mastery is very important in math. Also look at what level can be achieved by senior year. If the slower pace of the regular class allows for mastery and still gets him to the proper level by graduation, the regular class may be best. Also consider the student teacher match up. Learning styles matter. </p>
<p>It’s also important to know what the real difference is between the honors and regular classes.</p>
<p>In some cases, the regular class is a zoo because all the kids with behavior issues end up there. The material taught might be a little easier, but it may be harder for the teacher to teach it effectively under those circumstances.</p>
<p>My advice would be to any child starting high school is to take as many honors classes as possible - it really will help prepare the child for the ACT too</p>
<p>Most high schools “weight” the academic classes differently. For example, an A in an academic level classes is a 4.0. , Honors=4.2 and an AP=4.5. This is why you see students that have a GPA well over a 4.0. In addition, many HS require an A or B in an academic class before letting the student advance to the Honors level class the following year. Same thing for an AP class.To answer your question, colleges look at the student who pushes themselves to the highest level of coursework (providing they can do it successfully).</p>
<p>In our high school, there are four different levels of classes - current grade non-honors, one-grade advanced non-honors one grade advanced honors, and AP. I would definitely recommend taking advantage of one-grade advanced non-honors in subjects where your child is less comfortable in his mastery of the material. For my DS1, this meant taking Geometry in 9th, Alg II/Trig in 10th, Pre-Calc in 11th and Calc 12th), but at a non-honors level. This showed rigor while affording him the opportunity to learn at a slower pace, which allowed him to maintain at 3.8 average. I would not recommend taking honors and advanced placement classes in subjects with which your child struggles if your high school is like ours, which does not weight grades. Not every college recalculates GPA (i.e., Michigan), so in our experience achieving the highest GPA in courses appropriate for your child was the best strategy. Additionally, for schools in which grades are not weighted, having lower grades in honors and AP courses will have a negative effect on class rank. </p>
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<p>In general, I think this is good advice, but if your child is advised otherwise, it may make sense to listen. At the high school my son attended, students who had no background in Spanish outside of school were strongly advised not to take honors Spanish. This was because the honors Spanish classes were dominated by heritage speakers, and anyone who wasn’t one would be lost. </p>
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Good students would actually welcome that resource/challenge. They don’t end up "lost’.</p>
<p>Agreeing with general trend above, I think a student should take the hardest possible courses that he/she can take AND that he/she can do well in. The “AND” is especially important as it can demonstrate ability to handle more challenging material and may help develop time management skills. In addition, being able to submit an overall strong college app may offer student a chance at wider range of college choices and financial aid packages. A student won’t wow too many with 3 years of non weighted courses and then suddenly a couple of honors/AP courses senior year. (And that’s okay, not all students are 4 year college bound.)</p>
<p>Weighted grades do not matter at schools that even the playing field by using unweighted gpa’s. Schools will look at the gpa and at the rigor of the curriculum. The ideal student will of course have both the toughest classes and the highest grades. The rest of the top students will have a mix.</p>