<pre><code> I was wondering what courses would be considered rigorous. I was looking into specific courses too. I'm a freshman in high school right now, and I am hoping to go to SUNY Binghamton, but I am not sure what they consider rigorous.
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<p>Would any of these courses be considered rigorous:</p>
<p>Algebra II/Trigonometry</p>
<p>Calculus</p>
<p>Physics </p>
<p>Chemistry honors</p>
<p>AP Stats (I hear that it is easy, not sure how) </p>
<p>AP Physics B and C (I know it's rigorous, but does it look very nice?)</p>
<p>I was mainly wondering about chemistry honors that isn't at AP level. Is it a rigorous course that can put a smile on a colleges face? I am looking to see if the college finds them rigorous. How many AP's does Binghamton University like to see? What about extra cirriculars? I think that the above courses would be rigorous, but to someone else...</p>
<p>Also, another question. Last year I took Living Environment (it's a regents course where I am). I got a 92 average, but I am worried that I didn't do good enough. I got a 91 on the regents (it's only in my state and one other). I just feel like I did bad in the class... I don't think that a 92 is all that bad but will it really hurt my chances...</p>
<p>“Rigor” is a relative term that will vary for each high school. AP Exams allow courses to be standardized to an extent, but even then some teachers will be more demanding than others and introduce additional materials.</p>
<p>I would suggest that you take those courses that you find interesting and will challenge you to work hard. Don’t concern yourself with how things might look to adcoms at some point in the future. If there is an area that your school does not offer enough for your ambition, look into community colleges/online courses/self study. These are all great ways to increase the rigor of your academic program without being limited by your school.</p>
<p>We have been told by numerous admissions reps that colleges want to see you taking the most challenging courses available to you. If there’s an honors track at your school, get on it and stay on it, then take the AP classes that follow.</p>
<p>In my daughter’s first high school, this meant taking honors bio, honors english, honors history, honors geometry, honors foreign language freshman year. The next year, kids on the honors track took honors chem, honors history, honors alg II, honors sophomore writing and lit, and again, honors foreign language. They did not offer AP classes to sophomores unless they’d exhausted the honors classes. However, at my kids’ current high school, there are a few sophomores taking AP classes, especially those who are gifted in math.</p>
<p>I would add a caveat to Massmom’s comment that admissions reps want to see you EXCELLING at the most challenging courses available to you. It is not worth taking the full honors/AP curriculum if you will be earning B’s and C’s.</p>
<p>Admission to Binghamton is certainly competitive, but not excessively so. The OP seems to leans towards math and science, and I would suggest that getting A’s in college prep history, along with Calc and AP Science, would be preferable to struggling in APUSH (just as one example).</p>