<p>Hi guys, after much research, I'm still confused about the constitution of a "rigorous" course load. Can someone please tell me if my high school course load is considered rigorous for colleges like Swarthmore/Williams/Pomona (preferably against their HS schedule)? I tried looking at different results threads to look at schedules, but they varied extensively (some people had schedules with many more AP classes and were still rejected). I am an Indian, male, junior if it makes a difference. I would like to be an econ major and eventually go into academia. Semester Grades can be provided if requested. </p>
<p>Freshman Year:</p>
<p>Pre-AP Algebra II
Pre-AP World Geography
Pre-AP Biology
Pre-AP English I
Music Theory
Business and Info Management
Debate I
Spanish I</p>
<p>Sophomore Year:</p>
<p>AP World History
AP Environmental Science
Pre-AP Pre-Calculus
Pre-AP English II
Pre-AP Spanish II
Pre-AP Chemistry
Pre-AP Physics
Honors Academic Decathlon</p>
<p>Junior Year:</p>
<p>AP US History
AP Calculus AB
AP Art History
AP English Lang.
AP Biology
Pre-AP Spanish III
Honors Academic Decathlon</p>
<p>Senior Year (Predicted):</p>
<p>AP Calculus BC
AP Chemistry
AP Government/AP Macroecon (each a semester)
AP English Lit
AP Spanish IV
Possibly an economics class at a local state school
Honors Academic Decathlon
Weightlifting (online)</p>
<p>Your course load looks rigorous to me. You’ve taken 7 AP’s before senior year. And in your senior year you progress into even higher level AP’s. One additional step to take is to evaluate your schedule relative to what’s available at your school. Did you generally take the most rigorous courses available? Looking at your course load I would guess the answer is yes.</p>
<p>My school offers the following APs. One person has taken Calc BC sophomore year, and since my school isn’t particularly competitive, I thought this may be unusual, but not rare at other higher level high schools.</p>
<p>Arts
AP Art History
AP Music Theory
AP Studio Art: 3-D Design
AP Studio Art: Drawing</p>
<p>English
AP English Language and Composition
AP English Literature and Composition</p>
<p>History & Social Science
AP European History (supposedly, they don’t offer it, but it’s in the catalog)
AP Human Geography
AP Macroeconomics
AP Psychology
AP United States Government and Politics
AP United States History
AP World History</p>
<p>Math & Computer Science
AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC
AP Computer Science A
AP Statistics</p>
<p>Sciences
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Environmental Science
AP Physics B
AP Physics C: Mechanics</p>
<p>World Languages & Cultures
AP French Language and Culture
AP Spanish Language and Culture
AP Spanish Literature and Culture</p>
<p>Your schedule would be above average in terms of difficulty IMO. I came in with (I believe, it’s been awhile) 13 AP courses and I had a lot more placement credits than most of my friends. One thing that will greatly benefit you is that you took a wide variety of AP courses, not just a bunch of humanities or whatever. That’s a sign that you are a well-rounded, academically motivated student which is like 2 of the top 3 things Swarthmore admissions cares about. (Also if you do nothing else senior year, get a 4 or a 5 on the Calc BC exam. At most schools including Swarthmore, that’s 2 semesters of free math credits right there, which can make an enormous difference - if you’re interested in math you can take upper level courses immediately; if not, you’re 2 credits closer to fulfilling distribution requirements!)</p>