<p>A few weeks ago my school had a college night and a representative from Davidson was there, and one of the questions was, of course, "Is it better to get lower grades in harder classes (AP especially) or higher grades in easier classes?" She skipped the "There are just too many students with good grades in hard classes," instead she said something new that I'd never thought of. She reminded us that we're applying to colleges and asked what it would look like to a college if you're getting bad grades in college-level classes (like you're going to struggle when you get to college). </p>
<p>What do you think of this? is this a solid way of thinking (since you would, presumably, gain knowledge between high school and college)?</p>
<p>Honestly, I think she skirted the question because of conflicting desires: 1) they actually want kids with great grades in hard classes more than kids with good grades in hard classes and 2) they want hungry learners.</p>
<p>She realizes that you can’t advertise for one without sacrificing the other – she’s hoping for the super achiever but won’t mind the natural learner as well.</p>
<p>Ridiculous. Spanish is a good example. A kid takes regular Spanish, works hard, and gets an A, so she gets bumped up into advanced Spanish. She’s there with some kids already with a good understanding of the language. She works like crazy but still doesn’t understand the teacher (who speaks in Spanish) as well as the other kids, and gets a B. Does that mean that the kid who gets a B is any less hard working or smart than the kid that gets an A, who had more background in Spanish to begin with?</p>