What Looks Better – an A in a Regular College Prep Course or a Lower Grade in an Honors / AP Course?

This is a question we get quite a bit: whether to play it safe and get the A in a regular college prep level course, or to challenge yourself and take the Honors or AP course, but get a lower grade, such as a B or a C. Typically, the most weight given to any high school student's college application is to their high school transcript.  This not only includes their grades, but also the level and rigor of their curriculum.  Colleges want to know that the student is actively pushing himself, taking the most challenging, yet appropriate, courses that he can.  

The answer that most colleges will give you is that, it’s better to get an A in the Honors/AP class.  Well, of course.  And most highly selective colleges will expect that you do.  But in reality, most colleges would rather see a B in an Honors or AP course.  They want to see that you are truly challenging yourself, but that you are still mastering the material.  If you’re getting C’s or D’s in the class, you clearly aren’t mastering the material, and should re-think your placement in the course.

Now if a student has all A’s in his College Prep (CP) level courses, it may look as though he’s smart enough and capable to take a few Honors or AP courses but is playing it safe; he’s not up for the challenge.  Colleges may be put off by this.  This type of student should try to take on just a couple of Honors or AP courses, potentially in the subjects he feels most comfortable in, those where his strengths lie, or those he is most interested in (or potentially may major in).

But will this impact my GPA? At most high schools, Honors and AP courses are weighted differently than CP courses, thus giving “extra credit” to students in the higher level courses for performing well.  Colleges typically know which high schools do not use weighted ranks and take this into consideration while reviewing and comparing students.  Ask your guidance counselor exactly what your grading and weighting system is at your high school.  They should also be able to recommend whether you should move up a level in a particular course.

What if my school doesn’t offer Honors or AP courses?  Colleges will be aware of what your high school offers and will evaluate you in terms of what opportunities you had and what classes were available to you.    You won't be penalized for not taking higher level courses if they aren't offered.  However, if Honors or AP courses aren't offered at your school, see if there are any other opportunities you can engage in, such as taking courses at a local college or community college or through an online program (i.e., Virtual High School).  Colleges will love your initiative.

Ultimately, colleges are looking for students who push themselves, who take the most challenging, yet appropriate, course load that’s available to them and that they can realistically handle and perform well.  Not every student can realistically take on a full course load of honors and AP courses and do well.  Know yourself and ask those around you who know you well, such as your teachers and guidance counselor.

Please share any additional tips you have!

About Smart Track™ Toolkit: The toolkit is a web based service that assists families with everything from admissions and test prep, to student athletics and financial aid. Our intuitive software and on-demand workshops are key components to making sure students find their top choice colleges, and families can afford to send them there.

About the author: Laura Guarino is the Student Services Coordinator with the College Resource Center, LLC. Laura has a degree in Human Development from Boston College and recently received her Master’s degree in School Guidance Counseling.  She is also enrolled in a certificate program in College Admissions Counseling.  Laura is at the forefront of the college admissions process for the families of The Smart Track™ Toolkit.

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5 Things I Wish I’d Known About PICKING COURSES When I Started College

At Grockit, we’re all about education and getting you ready to move on to the next stage in your life.  But we’re not just teachers; we’re all former and/or current students, too, and we’ve got more than just test preparation tips to share with you!

By the end of my freshman year in college, I had already changed my major twice, and as a result, I picked up a lot of random knowledge about different kinds of classes across several disciplines.  Read on to learn the easy way from a few lessons I got the hard way!

1. Two words: PASS/FAIL.  Don’t overuse this option—it looks lazy on your transcript if you’ve taken tons of pass/fail courses—but if it’s available to you, take advantage of it when its appropriate.  Talk to your advisor if you’re not sure how it works.  There’s no better way for a liberal arts scholar to explore astrophysics, or for an engineering student to learn about Chaucer, than by doing it pass/fail.  Once the grade pressure is off, the learning pleasure can really kick in, and you might discover a new academic passion!
2. Start with your foundation courses, then move on to the specialized ones later.  You might change your mind a few times about what you want to major in, and if you’ve taken a bunch of English courses before deciding that you REALLY want to be a math major, you might not be able to use all of those credits.  Try to get your general ed requirements out of the way at the beginning; those credits will usually be good no matter what major you end up pursuing.
3. Often, credits will transfer from another institution but the grade won’t—make the most of this!  If you’re worried about what getting a C in that dreaded foundation course will do to your GPA, try taking it during the summer at a community college and transferring the credit to your university later.  Of course, see an advisor to make sure that the credit will transfer and will fulfill your requirement, but with a little planning you can save some yourself both money and stress this way; this is a particularly popular option for math-haters who have to take a basic course in the subject to graduate.
4. The rule of thumb is that each credit hour of class will translate to about 3 hours of homework.  You should be prepared to spend 9 hours each week prepping for a 3 credit class, so don’t overload yourself by taking more credits than you can handle the out-of-class responsibilities for.
5. Learn a little about the professor before signing up for the class, if you can.  Do some research online or ask upperclassmen.  A great professor can make a boring subject captivating; this also goes the other way.  Don’t pick a course just for the topic—try to learn from professors who interest you, too.

What kinds of things have you learned about picking courses, and what do you wish you knew?  Share it in the comments!

About Grockit: Grockit is a fun and engaging learning community that encourages students to learn from group study, game play, expert tutorials and solo study. Students that prepare with Grockit have proven to achieve higher scores on college admissions tests. 

About the author: Andrea Alexander is a current graduate student in the School of Information at the University of Michigan. She's been teaching test prep for about eight years and have picked up lots of helpful knowledge along the way. She specializes in the verbal aspects of test prep, since her education and career experience as an attorney, freelance writer, and editor have given her the background for that.