Take “challenging, yet appropriate” classes. We used the ter | Akhmadov

Take “challenging, yet appropriate” classes.


We used the term “challenging, yet appropriate” often in college admissions
to describe what type of curriculum we’d like to see on a transcript. These
were classes that actively engaged the student who was prepared for the
course material. There was no sense floating by with an easy A in regular
biology if a more challenging honors option was available. There was no
sense drowning in geometry honors if a regular-level geometry class would
provide more time for homework.
We recognized that a student’s high school ranking took nearly four
years of high school into consideration. We understood that a student who
would graduate valedictorian likely needed to have an incredible ninth
grade. But junior and first-term senior grades mattered much more to
admissions committees than first-year grades. I never voted to deny an
applicant because of a freshman-year grade. (In fact, many admissions
officers often speak of “upward trends” as strengths on applicants’
transcripts.) And freshman (and sophomore) year were about trying new
electives, dipping one’s toes into curriculum that might not have been
available in middle school, and challenging oneself to grow academically.
In his first year, a high school student had some flexibility with his
curriculum, providing he was forming a foundation for the years that
followed.
Of course, it was still important to review overall school curriculum
requirements so there would be no surprises by senior year. Which brought
me to …

Becky Munsterer Sabky (former admission officer)