<p>So my son is taking all honors classes and the one AP history class offered for freshmen. He has strong B's in all - they add 7 points onto his grades for taking these honor and AP classes, but from what I understand that doesn't matter when applying to colleges? So, are we better off next year taking less honors classes (less rigor) and having him get A's? No one seems to be able to answer that question, the counselors just say "it's better to get A's in honors classes". Well, duh! But, considering reality, what do you all think is the best course of action for college admissions? Are the kids in on level classes getting A's going to get in over my son and his rigor? Thank you for all help!</p>
<p>colleges generally want to see people challenging themselves, meaning a B in AP is better than an A in standard</p>
<p>Who told you it doesn’t matter?! It matters A LOT except at the very least selective colleges!
Look at the Common Data Set for any university (google one) and see section C. They rate the importance of all the factors including “rigor of secondary school record” and at any school we looked at for our son it was rated as “Very Important” right up there with GPA and test scores.
Colleges want students that want to learn and are highly capable of mastering a college curriculum, you don’t demonstrate that by skating by in the easier courses.
So a B in honors is better than an A in the regular class, but a C is not ;-)</p>
<p>If you seem to be getting inconsistent messages from guidance counselors and if you have the time, borrow a book or two on college admissions from your local library and start learning about the process on your own. These days it really helps to have parents who know how this all works, since guidance counselors are often overwhelmed with too many students and fill too many roles on the job. And the whole game is completely different than when many parents went to college!
You son will be fine because he has a mom who is already on top of things :-)</p>
<p>Here’s another thought- that is a heavy load for a freshman, but maybe he will learn what he needs to do to meet expectations, and he’ll be prepared for the tougher classes. That said, what does he think? Could he work harder and get As? Or is he already staying up until midnight every night, studying all weekend, sacrificing other interests to get these Bs?</p>
<p>This is a very good question OP and I think about it often with my ds15. He typically gets A’s in standard classes and B’s in honors. We have decided to have him take a mixture. In classes that he is interested in - he will take honors. In classes that he just has to take - he takes standard (this is English for my ds). So math and history will be honors because he doesn’t complain about doing the work. </p>
<p>I also have a senior and I will say I was a bit amazed at how many schools want the unweighted GPA over the weighted. Now my dd is an A student in honors so I did not have to worry about it with her but it was good to learn for my ds.</p>
<p>The other thing to consider is that the honors and AP classes are bound to challenge your child more and I do believe will help him perform better when it comes to the SAT and/or ACT. We have a friend who has a senior that has a 4.0 in standard classes but really struggles with the SAT and ACT - I think it is because he has not had to think at a “higher level”. Goodluck</p>
<p>ahsmuoh - you said “amazed at how many schools want the unweighted GPA over the weighted.”
Colleges need to compare students from a gazillion different grading systems, so they use the unweighted GPA as a baseline number, but then they look at the rigor. The 3.5 AP/honors student goes into a different “bin” than the 3.5 regular courses kid.
Note that many schools recalculate the baseline number to exclude things like gym classes or to focus on core subjects or to ignore 9th grade numbers etc. Each college has their own system.
I do agree that students shouldn’t be driven crazy or unduly stressed by maxing out on too many difficult courses however. The strategy of pursuing AP/honors in the student’s best or favorite subjects can be a reasonable approach.</p>