<p>Okay this is a really stupid question. How exactly do colleges know if a student took the most difficult courseload available? Some schools offer APs to freshmen, while others, like mine, only offer one AP class (well, choice between two) before junior year.</p>
<p>Likewise, many schools don't offer honors versions of every course, so if a college doesn't know this they may question why someone took regular physics as opposed to honors or AP.</p>
<p>I'm assuming that colleges will talk to the guidance counselors or view the high school coursebook directly to ensure that a rigorous courseload is taken, but doing so for every student seems like it would take a very long time. Am I correct, or is there another way that colleges do it?</p>
<p>When you apply using the common application, your school GC must also submit a form evaluating you and stating how difficult your course load was. My guess is that the schools don’t go beyond this form.</p>
<p>High schools generally submit a “school profile” to the colleges along with the other forms, in which the school lists the AP classes offered, how grade point average is calculated, as well as other information that may be of interest to the admission officer evaluating your application. If you want, I’m sure if you stop by the guidance office you can obtain a copy of the profile.</p>
<p>Edit: it’s usually something like these:
<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/counseling/profile/sample[/url]”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/counseling/profile/sample</a>
<a href=“http://www.niskyschools.org/district/pdfword/NHSProfile_2008-09.pdf[/url]”>http://www.niskyschools.org/district/pdfword/NHSProfile_2008-09.pdf</a></p>