“Is it not helpful to know your guidance counselor well as this person will be submitting information about you to the colleges? For example, the GC will list your kid’s course load as “very rigorous” or not, which brings in subjectivity. If you have been working diligently with your GC on choosing and refining your course load during high school they may give you the benefit of the doubt when checking the box? If this is incorrect, please explain.”
Our GCs simply do not have time to know every kid well. I don’t want to be on the radar as a time waster. Course plan is selected in March by filling out a card and turning it in, GC calls in only if there is a conflict which is rare at a very large school with multiple sections of most classes, even APs.
If you are in IB- automatic most rigorous. Didn’t worry about this for kid #1 as she was IB, and also only applied to one college where this question is asked. Second kid had 1 AP freshman year, 2 AP sophomore year and is planning on 5 AP junior year and 5 AP senior year. If this is not most rigorous I don’t want to live in that world and she will have to accept that.