Course RigorAnswered
I am going to be graduating a year early and I was a little worried about my course rigor. I was lazy picking my classes in my 2nd year of high school and only took 1 Dual Credit class. All together with the classes I am going to take I will have 10 honors classes, 6 Dual Credits, and 2 AP's. I still have a good GPA at 3.9 unweighted and 4.7 weighted and a 1510 SAT so I was wondering if my rigor would look bad for applications. I have taken classes related to engineering but they are not weighed any differently. I am aiming for T20 Engineering schools and if necessary could pick up an extra dual credit class or 2.
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That is a LOT of honors classes + dual credits, but I am used to seeing students with many more APs. However, if your school only offers a few, it's ok. Colleges will understand that if you politely explain it in the Additional Information section of the Common App. If they only offered a few AP, it is obvious that you seized the chance to take as many honors/dual credit, which is making do with what is available.
A few more dual credit classes may be helpful, but I am not sure if that is needed or not. I recommend talking to someone who may have more experience, like a guidance counselor (but I am aware that most high school counselors are really NOT doing their job) or an aquaintance who was accepted into a T20 school.
As far as graduating early, I had considered the same thing. It was definitely an option, but I choose to stay in high school and take college classes at a dual level to save time and money on my bachelor's (my cc and the university have direct agreements, which is awesome!!) Also, I wanted to keep pursuing my ECs; these are also important. Grades and course rigor is not everything. There are admission essays, test scores, EC's, letters of rec, + a unmentioned aspect: passion. Top schools-or any school-LOVE to see passion. You need to know what you love and why does it matter; you also need to be able to explain that through essays and possible interviews.
So if you feel like many aspects could use some umph, I recommend not graduating early. It's up to you and your goals.
Hope this helps and please lmk if you have any questions!
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@Jael_S238 There was a good amount of AP's offered I honestly just didn't like them that much and preferred Dual Credit. Would it look better on my application if I switched 2 of the dual credits I am taking to AP's and have 4 of each and then still the 10 honors? My extracurriculars are alright I don't have any awards or anything but my main ec's I am cofounder of a nonprofit, have been a tutor for 3.5 years, and have an engineering internship.