<p>Right now I'm taking the IB diploma program and i was just wondering if taking 4 higher level courses would make a big difference in terms of how colleges decide how rigorous your course load is. I'm asking because normally people tend to do 3, and many people at my school, including the IB co-ordinator have told me that it does not factor much compared to what points you get.</p>
<p>My current subjects for reference: </p>
<p>Maths HL
World History HL
Economics HL
English A1 SL
Chinese A2 SL (I'm Chinese )
Physics SL</p>
<p>If i change 1 to Hl it would be english. </p>
<p>Any thoughts/comments?</p>
<p>You should take the hardest load that you can be very successful with. Don’t overload with hard courses if you think that could result in a lower GPA. Weighted GPA is the most important criteria at most highly selective schools.</p>
<p>hmm…i actually don’t know how hard English HL is. Does anyone have any idea? Also, does it matter more because of my asian background (who are stereotypically worse at english)?</p>
<p>No it doesn’t make a big difference in terms of college apps. It’s much more important that you have something interesting and differentiating to say for yourself. If you can productively put that time into an EC you enjoy, or writing better college essays, or making sure you do well in your other classes, then do that.</p>