most rigorous courses available?

Applying to College
1

<p>overall I'd say my academic courses have very rigorous, definitely more so than the vast majority of my class. I have taken either honors or AP in every class where its possible....</p>

<p>except I took regular-level physics last year, and I'm planning to take regular level calculus this upcoming year as well. the main reason is because my school has 4 periods per semester. that makes it difficult to take classes like AP physics or AP calc, which are two of the few classes at my school that have to be taken all-year. also, taking physics C requires you to take calculus either as a prerequisite or concurrently. I didn't have time in my schedule to sacrificing half of my entire school year to taking these two classes, while also filling my other requirements and interests in difficult subjects.</p>

<p>also, AP calc is the only honors/ap math available for me other than the ones I've already taken. I've been told colleges want you to continue to take math and science in your senior year, but that kind of forces me into to taking AP calc which I don't have time for.</p>

<p>does this matter? the most selective schools typically say that they want to see you taking the most rigorous courses available, but do they mean completely, or just in general? considering I'm thinking of applying to schools like brown and yale, I want to show that I really am challenging myself and have done well in challenging classes. but I'm only human.</p>

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<p>Sounds like you have block scheduling at your school. We do as well and it's very difficult to work with at times. Yes, colleges understand schedule conflicts, especially under these constraints, and will note it from your HS's profile. Many college apps have the rigorous courseload question on the GC recommendation form and you can talk to your GC about it.</p>

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<p>sk8rmom -- I think the OP needs to make sure that the guidance counselor specifically notes the scheduling conflict on the recommendation form. High School Profiles come in many forms and I've seen a lot of them that are terrible. Even the best of them don't provide the sort of detail that would enable an admissions officer to instantly recognize that an individual student didn't take AP Calc because of a scheduling conflict.</p>

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<p>that's a good idea, I have a really good GC so I'm sure she could explain it very well that I did do my best under the conditions. I'll be sure to mention it to her.</p>