AP, Honors or Regular: Which Classes to Take?

One schedule, two students

Maya is a sophomore choosing her classes for junior year. A friend at another high school is taking six AP classes next year, and Maya plans to copy that list exactly. It looks like the safest way to impress colleges.

But the list does not fit her. Her school offers some of those classes only to students who took a specific course in 10th grade, which she did not. Her strongest subjects are history and English, while her friend's list leans toward science. And Maya plays club volleyball about 12 hours a week, with weekend tournaments in the spring. A schedule built for someone else, at another school, with a different week, could leave her with lower grades in the very subjects she cares about most.

What colleges look for in a course schedule

In a NACAC survey of four-year colleges, 64% rated the strength of a student's curriculum as considerably important in admission. Only grades in college-prep courses ranked higher. In other words, colleges care about which classes a student took, not only about the grades earned in them.

But "strength" is measured against the student's own school. Colleges read the transcript alongside the school profile, which lists the courses the school offers. Stanford looks at how a student has "taken advantage of what is available" to them. MIT describes the students it looks for as people who "take challenging coursework." Neither sets a number. Six AP classes mean one thing at a school that offers eight and something quite different at a school that offers thirty.

Context explains a schedule; it does not excuse it. A student at a school with many advanced options who takes very few of them is read in that context too.

Five questions for choosing the right level

Ask these for each subject, every year.

1. What does my school offer? Start with the course catalog and the school profile. Many advanced classes have prerequisites, and some subjects follow a sequence that starts in 9th or 10th grade, with math as the usual example. Knowing the paths early avoids discovering in 11th grade that a class is out of reach. The school counselor can explain how the school's levels work.
2. Am I ready for this level? Look at this year's grade in the subject, ask the current teacher whether the next level makes sense, and be honest about study habits. A student moving up in a subject for the first time is often better served by a solid foundation course than by jumping two levels at once.
3. Does it connect to where I'm heading? Stretch the most in the subjects tied to the student's interests. A student drawn to engineering takes the most demanding math and science available; a student drawn to history and writing does the same in English and social studies. In other subjects, a standard level is fine. One or two electives outside the main interest are welcome too, because they show curiosity beyond a single track.
4. Does the whole week fit? Add up everything: class time, homework, sports, a job, family responsibilities, the commute and sleep. An advanced class usually brings more homework than the regular version. A schedule is sustainable when the student can keep their grades, their main activities and enough rest, all at the same time.
5. Am I revisiting the plan every year? A plan made in 9th grade is a starting point. Each spring, before choosing next year's classes, look at how the current year went and adjust.

For Maya, the answers point to a different schedule: advanced history and English, where she is strongest; the most demanding math and science her school allows from the courses she has already taken; and a total load that leaves room for volleyball. She takes fewer AP classes than her friend, and builds a stronger transcript for herself.

Productive challenge or overload?

A hard class should feel hard. The question is whether the difficulty is helping the student grow or wearing them down. A few weeks into the term, these signs help tell the difference.

What to try before dropping a level

When a class starts to feel like too much, moving down a level should not be the first step. Try these first:

• Talk to the teacherAsk what is going wrong and what would help. Teachers often see the problem sooner than the student does.
• Learn how to study for this kind of classA first AP class often asks for a different way of working: reading before class, regular practice questions, and going back over every mistake. Many students struggle with the method, not the material.
• Ask students who took the class last yearThey know which units are hardest and what helped them.
• Give structured help a few weeksExtra-help sessions, a study group or a tutor, at a regular time each week.
• Talk to the counselor before decidingAsk about the deadline for changing levels and how a change appears on the transcript.

If the grades keep sliding after a few weeks of real effort and help, moving to a different level is a sound decision. It protects the transcript, and it gives the student back time for the subjects and activities that matter most to them.