I have a question if anyone can answer that would be great! Do does anyone know if taking less classes in high school is frowned upon by colleges? (For example: I already has the required credits for high school, but I am unable to graduate early because I still need another year of math or English so I want to take less classes because I don’t need to be taking a lot of classes.)
Which schools are you thinking of applying to? In general, it doesn’t look good to have a barebones course schedule in senior year.
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I believe your senior schedule is important. My kids never took a study hall, some never took a lunch period. All they needed senior year was English and PE, took a full schedule senior year with AP classes (which saved $ in college).
What they said.
And in case it comes up on the SAT or ACT, it’s “fewer classes” not “less classes”.
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During this CoViD19 era, high schools and colleges are a little more forgiving of not-full schedules. However the highly selective colleges will still want a full schedule. Also you should take classes in core subjects every year.
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The key here is what you need…and what you want. If you are applying to fairly selective colleges, they want evidence that the student can handle a full courseload of work at a high academic level- because the workload in college is typically more intense than in HS. They also want students who are keen to challenge themselves. Many of the more selective colleges will say on their websites that they ‘prefer’ applicants to have 4 years each of a lab science, a social science, math, English and a FL- and by ‘prefer’ they mean ‘this is what we expect unless there is a good reason’. Some are even specific that they look at the academic rigor of the senior year.
On the other hand, the majority of colleges won’t be bothered by your senior courseload- if you meet their entry requirements you are fine.
Genuine (not snarky!) question: aside from the cultural expectation that after HS one goes to college, why do you want to go to college?