The most rigorous courses at your school IN YOUR AREA(S) OF INTEREST is generally the qualifier elite privates include.

The “take as many of the hardest courses as early as you can” mentality that UMC high schools are drumming into smart kids can be really counterproductive, especially at the most rigorous universities. Take the course you can learn the most from (or take the course when you’re ready to get the most out of it) and balance your workload so you have time to do everything you need to do as well as you are able to do it is the better approach.

Anonymous wrote:Visited a highly ranked pubic university with dc this summer and an admissions official told us they want to see that you took the rigorous classes offered by YOUR school and did well.

Exactly. The “top” want kids who took the hardest classes available to them AND got As.

Visited a highly ranked pubic university with dc this summer and an admissions official told us they want to see that you took the rigorous classes offered by YOUR school and did well.

Or that your school isn’t challenging you. Or that you’re busting your ass to do everything well.

Anonymous wrote:Take the most rigorous courses in which you can get As!

In my opinion, making straight As shows that you're not challenging yourself

Take the most rigorous courses in which you can get As!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Essentially an unweighted 3.8-4.0
I used to tell my kids that no one was perfect, and a B wouldn't tank their college dreams.

Whoops.

A single B might not. Several Bs will.

I'm telling my kid to let me know when they have below an A- in any class. Then we get to work to bring it up.

My kid is working his ass off in 7 IB classes this year and has a 3.6 unweighted and a 4.1 weighted. He's hoping all that rigor counts for something because his friends in regular classes have 4.0s.

My DS did the same and I think it probably hurt him a bit with college admissions, especially with scholarship money. Rigor seems to be a bit underrated in the process. However, it was DS's choice to take really tough courses, and it has set him up incredibly well in college. He is now a straight A student in a difficult major, and will be highly employable some day. Taking challenging courses is what helps you become an excellent writer, fluent in a foreign language, or really good at math or science.

But then what is all this talk about the "most rigorous" box that counselors need to check?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Essentially an unweighted 3.8-4.0
I used to tell my kids that no one was perfect, and a B wouldn't tank their college dreams.

Whoops.

A single B might not. Several Bs will.

I'm telling my kid to let me know when they have below an A- in any class. Then we get to work to bring it up.

My kid is working his ass off in 7 IB classes this year and has a 3.6 unweighted and a 4.1 weighted. He's hoping all that rigor counts for something because his friends in regular classes have 4.0s.

My DS did the same and I think it probably hurt him a bit with college admissions, especially with scholarship money. Rigor seems to be a bit underrated in the process. However, it was DS's choice to take really tough courses, and it has set him up incredibly well in college. He is now a straight A student in a difficult major, and will be highly employable some day. Taking challenging courses is what helps you become an excellent writer, fluent in a foreign language, or really good at math or science.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Essentially an unweighted 3.8-4.0
I used to tell my kids that no one was perfect, and a B wouldn't tank their college dreams.

Whoops.

A single B might not. Several Bs will.

I'm telling my kid to let me know when they have below an A- in any class. Then we get to work to bring it up.

And therein lies the problem. Engineered grades. Led by parents, tutors, and pushing, pushing, pushing. Kids aren't truly earning those grades. They are being worked, groomed, and forced to get those grades. What are they going to do in college without parents working you to "bring those grades up! Don't be a loser!" You realize most kids with engineered grades in schools that easily round up grades (like MCPS) have a very hard time getting in the top schools even if they don't get one A. Why not let your kids lead the way and get them in a college suitable for THEM, not you?

PP here. You totally misunderstood my response. We don't hire tutors and we don't push. My kid takes the tests, so she earns her grades. I'm an engineer, so with math (her weakest subject), I make sure she understands what she's doing. I don't give her the answers for her homework, but I check what she's done.

My daughter sets A-'s as the standard, not us, and it's because she has demonstrated that she can work at that level. I have two daughters, and the younger one is completely different and doesn't approach school the same way her older sister does. She has her own path and we will encourage her to take it. It all depends on the child.

I agree there are some parents out there who try to fit a square peg into a round hole and proclaim "TJ or bust" or "Harvard or nothing". I feel truly sorry for those kids.