do you have to take all honors classes to get into a really good college?

F

fieldhockeyx

New member
in high school, do you have to take all honors classes?
i'll be a sophomore next yearr
and this year i took 2 honors classes, probably the same for next year.
but i know a bunch of kids that take all honors classes [some of them arent even that smart]

i other things, for example 2 or 3 varsity sports & write for the newspaper, take art classes, hoping to join another club next year. and i have a part time job outside of school..

i'm just way too busy to take all honors / AP courses.

soo... your input? bonus: classes that are good to take... thanks.
 
No you don't. Colleges want you to have a rigorous course load that indicates you challenging yourself. If two honors courses is a challenge, then that's great, and just stick to it. It does seem like many people take all honors and/or all APs, but in reality it isn't worth the stress until you want to do it for the sake of learning and not for the good grade on a transcript. You should definitely have a couple Honors and AP classes in your schedule, but it isn't imperative to fill your schedule with them.

Additionally, AP courses are more of a way for collegeboard to get money. If you look at the really good schools, many of them do not take exam scores for credit, and only use it for placement purposes. It's a waste to spend $700 on AP Exams when colleges may not neccessarily give you anything for it and you could just take a placement test at the college you are going to later.

I understand how it is to be very busy. The most important thing is that you do what you do because you like doing it and not because you want to put it on your college app. Intrinsic motivation will bring you to success in whatever you do (it could help you become captain/editor etc). The passion and personality is going to shine through in any application

Bonus: I would take the honor-level classes of the subject you are interested in. If you like history, I would definitely take the AP or Honors level of it.
Also, if you know what fields you want to pursue in college, I would start looking to see what classes they entail and try them out (it's better to know now than in college), For instance, if you want to become a doctor, taking AP Biology would definitely help you.
Also, almost every college accepts AP Statistics for college credit. I would definitely take it if your school offers it.

Good luck!
 
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