<p>I have seen many threads on CC where students worry about whether their course choices in HS are good enough so that their GCs will check the coveted "most rigorous" box on their college application forms.</p>
<p>Does it strike you as odd that none of these kids seem to know what they must do to qualify as having a "most rigorous" curriculum?</p>
<p>Do your kids' schools keep this mysterious? Or do they have written policies that tell kids exactly what they must take to earn the "most rigorous" designation?</p>
<p>At my daughter's school, there seems to be no openly available policy, except that IB kids have been told that everyone in a full IB diploma program gets "most rigorous" checked regardless of what choices they make within the IB program. For kids who are not IB, the meaning of "most rigorous" is a mystery.</p>
<p>I wonder why schools aren't more open about this. Are they really afraid that if they tell the kids that taking 5 AP courses would qualify them for "most rigorous," it will automatically discourage kids from taking a 6th AP?</p>
<p>Compare
First track: AP like AP Psychology, AP Env. Science (No hard science AP course), AP Art & History, AP AB calculus (Provided school offer AP BC Calculus) and AP world History (Provided school offers AP European History)?</p>
<p>Second Track: AP Physics C, AP BC Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP US history, AP European History</p>
<p>Second course load is much more rigorous. Would college/school see it that way? I do not know the answer.</p>
<p>It isn't just what the school checks off. It's what the colleges think. If your school has a number of kids in the hardcore AP courses, they are likely to apply to top schools who have a good idea of what AP lite is.</p>
<p>Well, even the distinction between "hard" and "easy" when it comes to APs can be confusing.</p>
<p>Our school system offers AP World History as an alternative to the state-mandated high school Modern World History course, which is offered at both the honors and regular levels. Kids must choose one of the three options. So in this instance, AP World, which is certainly regarded as one of the fluffier APs, turns out to be the most rigorous course possible under the circumstances.</p>
<p>There are other subtleties. You don't want to judge rigor entirely by AP counting because this can discourage kids from continuing their study of a foreign language. In our school system, Level 5 foreign language is the AP course. A kid who drops foreign language after Level 3 could take an AP elective in another subject in place of the non-AP Level 4 foreign language course. If you only count APs, the choice of dropping the foreign language in favor of the AP elective seems better. But in fact, colleges would like to see kids take four years of foreign language.</p>
<p>I'm not saying that it would be easy to devise a formal policy on what constitutes "most rigorous." I'm just saying that if it is possible, it might decrease the kids' stress and uncertainty.</p>
<p>Our public HS was totally transparent about the scheduling recommended for all sorts of post graduate options. There were suggested 4 year schedules for elite colleges, state colleges, engineeing, two year college, skilled trades(electrician, carpentry, etc) among a few others I cannot recall.</p>
<p>I am sure the students following the elite college guidelings all got the most rigourous checkmark.</p>
<p>BTW, our son's guidance department was top notch too, sponsoring an evening sessions each year for frohs, soph, jr and sr college bound students and parents, inviting college reps into the school for meetings with interested students during the school day(probably between 10-2o reps per year), access to a specialty software package for all students and parents( <a href="http://www.coin3.com%5B/url%5D">www.coin3.com</a> ) which had oodles of data for over 3400 colleges, and office practices which made the application process quite simple and efficient. Senoir students also had access to an office phone if they needed to make a call to a college they applied to, reason being that many students would not be home until after the admissions/finaid offices had closed for the day.</p>
<p>I have not read or have been told anything like that at our D's high school. In fact, when we moved here, she was going into sophomore year. Her previous high school did not offer dual enrollment, so we were completely unaware of this option. The GC who met with us prior to enrollment did not even mention it as an option...she could have enrolled then for at least two dual enrollment courses. </p>
<p>It is just assumed you will know, I suppose. My BEST source for information is other parents.</p>
<p>Dual enrollment is not done at our kids' HS--probably because they do a very good job of having sufficient offerings of APs & now independent study to allow students to get as much depth & breath as they want while keeping their HS experiences primarily on campus. Some kids do take summer school on various college campuses, especially to try out schools they may wish to later attend.</p>
<p>Distinguished diploma, recommended diploma and basic diploma. Each has requirements and counselors check off most demanding (or not) based on what the student has elected.</p>