<p>I know it depends on my counselor, but you can probably surmise what most guidance counselors might think. Here's my schedule.</p>
<p>HL Bio
HL English
HL Psych
SL Hist
SL Math
SL Spanish
TOK
Adv Debate/Personal Finance (to get grad. req. out of the way)</p>
<p>Anyways, HL Math and HL Chemistry are both offered at my school and deemed harder than the classes I'm taking. Although, I couldn't have possibly taken HL Math due to its prerequisites, and I'm more interested in biology than chemistry. If there are these two classes that are deemed a little harder that I'm not taking, will my counselor likely still check that I've taken the "most rigorous" coursework, especially since I'm doing full IB diploma? </p>
<p>It really depends on what other students are doing and have been doing for all 4 years. So it’s hard to say</p>
<p>Full IB is the most rigorous you can take. Don’t stress over it. :)</p>
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<p>No, we can’t because it depends on what other students at your school typically do. If everyone else took those more rigorous courses, then your schedule would not be considered the most rigorous. If full IB students usually only take a couple of HL courses and the rest SL, then your schedule may be considered the most rigorous.</p>
<p>And of course, it depends on what your guidance counselor thinks, and no one can predict that because we don’t know your counselor.</p>
<p>Guidance counselors don’t split hairs like that. In the same way that many colleges are now saying, “Enough, already” with an all-AP schedule, GC s are looking at rigor a little more generically than “every single possible advanced course”. I agree that you should talk to your counselor, but the number of students in any given school who compete the full IB diploma is usually small (maybe 30 students) and there really isn’t any point in discounting that achievement or stressing about a course or two. It usually isn’t possible to hit every choose anyway, for scheduling reasons.</p>
<p>In order to receive an IB diploma, students must take three Higher-Level (“HL”) exams, three Standard-Level (“SL”) exams, Theory of Knowledge, and fulfill some additional Arts and Community Service requirements.My son took two SL exams (Math and Spanish) as a junior, and one SL (Economics) and three HL (World Literature; History - Americas Focus; and Biology) as a senior. He took ToK as a junior. He also took AP English Composition and World Geography as a sophomore; AP U.S. History as a junior (along with IB/SL American Literature); and AP Statistics as a senior. This was generally ranked “Most Demanding Available,” although some would argue that taking an AP or IB Calculus class instead of Statistics would have been more rigorous. Many schools have special requirements, furthermore, that preclude students from taking an additional, high-level course. My sons attended a religious-affiliated school that had Religion classes as part of the curriculum, and they discourage students from giving up a “free” period in the day - they feel it’s more valuable to have that time for consultations with teachers, if necessary, or use for other purposes. </p>