Choosing courses: rigor in context
How course rigor is read, and why it is judged against what your school offers.
, 4 minute read
Selective colleges review your transcript alongside a profile of your school. Rigor is read in context: a student at a school with few advanced courses is not expected to have taken the same number as a student at a school with dozens.
What readers look for is whether you chose challenge where it was available, especially in subjects connected to what you want to study.
A practical rule
Take the most demanding courses in which you can do well. A schedule that collapses your grades does not help. Planning a year ahead, rather than a semester, makes the best sequence possible.