How might colleges determine high school rigor for me?Answered
It may seem like a dumb question, but, firstly, is rigor determined relative to high school course offerings or is it determined by a specific standard set by whatever college?
Furthermore, I moved schools from one with essentially no rigor to the #2 ranked in my state. Consequently, some coursework at my new school was not available to me because I did not have the prerequisites from my old school (as there were none available). Would it be counted against me in the college admissions process, in literally any possible way, that I experienced this detriment of rigor?
The classes I missed out on are as follows:
- AP European History
- Honors Spanish 4
- AP Spanish 5
- Honors Multivariable Calculus | Diff. Eq.
- AP Chemistry
- AP Biology
It should also be noted that I will complete 9 APs, 7 Honors, and 3 college credits by the end of my senior year.
Thank you lads and have an excellent day.
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2 answers
Colleges consider your academics in the context of your high school. If you go to a school that offers 20 APs and you only take 3, you are seen differently than if your school offers 5 APs, especially for selective colleges. However, if this information will not appear on your transcript (i.e. if you're a freshman and went to a bad middle school), then noting it in the Additional Information section would be a good move, but only if it severely hindered your ability to take part in courses offered at your school. Also, you can talk to your guidance counselor or administration about this if it is negatively impacting your opportunities to achieve, and I'm sure they will be willing to reconsider their decision to not let you into the upper level classes. Best of luck!
Hi @myrrh_and_gold!
"Course rigor" is determined according to the high schools you attended. Admissions officers want to see that you are challenging yourself as much as possible, so they aren't looking for a set number of AP classes. Rather, they're considering the percentage of courses you took AP or honors and contextualizing that further with the number of such courses offered by your school. 9 AP classes is a lot for any applicant — I don't think you have anything to worry about there.
Regarding the multiple high schools question, you should send in transcripts from every high school you attended. I don't think it would be necessary to note your circumstances in something like the additional information section, since colleges will be able to see that from your two transcripts. However, if you're lacking AP or Honors courses in the fields you wish to major in, then it may be worth mentioning that in your essays (if you already cover the change in high schools).
In short, your academic record is already competitive, and there's no need to worry or apologize for not taking further AP courses. I would only note your situation in the additional information section if there's a noticeable gap in courses related to your major, and even then, I'd err more on discussing that in your essays than as an addendum to your application.
Hope that helps!
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That is very true. From my experience schools don't want to take a chance placing students in classes they may find too difficult but if you go out of your way to ask and explain why you want more rigorous classes (along with doing well in your current ones) they will be more willing to let you take the classes.