Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 13:38     Subject: Rigor - Is it that important?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Acceleration isn't rigor. It just isn't.
Sorry if that hurts your feelings. Leave China in China.


I beg to disagree. My kid is taking DE Multivariable senior year which is two years accelerated. How is that not more rigorous than the standard pre-calc?

DP. I disagree that “acceleration isn’t rigor,” of course accelerated classes show rigor, but I don’t think acceleration is necessary for rigor. Your kid has gone above and beyond, but another student who “only” reaches AP Calc would also have rigor, and might actually also get that “most rigorous” indicator. The schools don’t set the bar by the few accelerated students, they set the bar by what is the most rigorous version of what most students can attain — usually Calc, but in some schools, that might be just AP Precalc. Only about 50% of public high schools in the U.S. offer calculus.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 13:31     Subject: Rigor - Is it that important?
Anonymous wrote:I have a senior and know many of their peers/classmates. What I have seen-

Kids who take real rigor have better college results even if they have a few Bs — although those B’s should be in very hard advanced courses.

Alternatively, I have also seen kids get into very selective schools with less than sterling records.

If you are one of these kids you need something else - legacy, back door entrance, first gen/URM, feeder, etc.

I have seen over and over students getting into very selective colleges who are not competitive at that level.

A lot goes on behind closed doors.




I would agree with this. I have a kid who had a few Bs sprinkled throughout transcript (mostly in earlier years), who took very hard classes and got into a very hard to get into school.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 13:29     Subject: Rigor - Is it that important?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:"Top rigor" doesn't mean the hardest class every single time you have a choice. It just means above a certain threshold.



No, it means your student is taking the most rigorous courses offered by the high school in five core subjects (UVA) and the college counselor will attest to that.


It doesn’t mean ANYTHING consistently. Every counselor interprets it differently.


Yeah I have never been clear on what the "most rigorous means." Kid A maxxed out language and humanities APs, but after Calc BC jr yr, elected to take AP Stats and AP Physics instead of multivariable.

Kid B stopped a language after sophomore year (conflicted with STEM AP) but is taking multi senior year, plus AP stats and AP physics. Also a bunch of humanities APs.

So which is highest rigor? Kid A? Kid B? both? neither?

So which is highest rigor?
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 13:27     Subject: Rigor - Is it that important?
Anonymous wrote:Despite what you always hear, I know several non-hooked kids that have gotten into top 20 without top rigor across the board. They all had good GPAs but not top rigor in 100% of their classes.

What is your experience?


And how is that you know the rigor of these kids?
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 13:26     Subject: Rigor - Is it that important?
Anonymous wrote:Acceleration isn't rigor. It just isn't.
Sorry if that hurts your feelings. Leave China in China.


I beg to disagree. My kid is taking DE Multivariable senior year which is two years accelerated. How is that not more rigorous than the standard pre-calc?
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 13:24     Subject: Rigor - Is it that important?
Acceleration isn't rigor. It just isn't.
Sorry if that hurts your feelings. Leave China in China.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2026 13:21     Subject: Rigor - Is it that important?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:3.98/4.5, 1560 got WL at UVA a couple years ago.
4y FL, World, APUSH, APGov, Phy C-Mech, E&M, Calc BC, Calc 3/Linear BUT no lang nor lit. Yep, rigor in ALL areas.


I am surprised kid din't get into UVA but this is specifically NOT "rigor in all areas." You said no AP Lang or Lit. UVA admissions people state over and over that they want to see APs in all major subject areas. And while of course we all know that they take students without it, in this case it sounds like your kids did not have it.

In any case, being compared to peers is also enormous. And school you are applying to is also a factor. If your child was at TJ and applying to engineering it is easier to understand a waitlist than if your child is from Roanoke applying to Arts and Sciences.

PP. I agree. I must not have been clear.


Dont know how true highest rigor theory is but I know several kids from our MCPS high school who were accepted to UVA without the highest rigor. Some of them only took as some DCUM posters call fluff AP CLASSES like Econ, Psychology, Human Geo, etc.. no AP science classes and no AP history classes. Applied and accepted to UVA business school. Good SAT and ECs.


well this isn't even possible as the UVA business school requires a sophomore year application.


Maybe this was a few years back?


No its this year.


You apply to UVA’s Commerce School in the spring of first year to start in the fall of second year. These MCPS kids were not accepted into the business school.