How to Pick Your High School Classes with College in Mind

Choosing high school classes with an eye toward your future college admissions requires a lot of careful consideration and planning.

You must be strategic if you want your course load to reflect your innate talents and abilities and make a good impression on admission officers. Packing your schedule with the minimum course requirements in English, math, science, history and other “gut” courses required to graduate is important – but it’s not nearly enough to help you get into the school of your dreams.

What else should you consider when selecting your next year’s round of classes? Here are five questions you should ask yourself when planning your well-rounded curriculum:

1. Does Your Schedule Challenge You?

When your transcript is reviewed by a college admission officer, your GPA isn’t as important as the quality of the classes you’ve taken. Sure, a 4.0 GPA or higher is impressive, but it won’t mean much if a closer inspection of your transcript shows that you never challenged yourself with honor-level coursework or advance placement (AP) classes.

2. Do Your Classes Reflect Your Interests?

If you already have one or two ideas about what you want to study in college, it’s okay to lean heavily (but not exclusively) into coursework that aligns with your goals.

For example, if you intend to major in computer science, make sure to take advantage of the math and programming courses offered that will emphasize your passion and abilities. Success in those classes (especially if you take AP courses) will both prepare you for the college-level work you have ahead and show the admissions office your capabilities.

3. Do You Need to Branch Out?

What if you aren’t yet sure where your passions lie? Don’t be afraid to explore broader interests. Take a few electives (the sooner the better) that give you a chance to get more experience in a variety of career paths. Courses you take now can help you decide what really inspires you the most. The experimentation will also resonate well with the college admission board since that diversity of interest showcases you as a well-rounded individual.

4. Can You Get College Credit with Any Courses?

College credit always makes a student’s application stand out during the admission process. If you have the opportunity to earn college credits through AP classes or take college courses through dual-enrollment programs, take advantage of it. That can give you a jump start on your college career before you even graduate high school.

5. Are You Keeping Things Balanced?

Even though you want to think about course rigor when you’re selecting your classes and step outside your comfort zone a bit, you don’t want to overload yourself to the point where you’ll struggle to keep up and hurt your GPA. If you have already have a few AP classes on your schedule, it’s okay to schedule one or two classes that you know you can breeze through. Admission officers like to see a balanced approach and effective time management.

It’s always a wise idea to set up a meeting with a guidance counselor to discuss your course schedule and make certain that you’re on the right track toward achieving your goals. Preparing for the college admissions process is a lot more nuanced than most students realize, and it’s never too early to start.