This can be a little lengthy but worth the time to read. First you need to know that College Admission officers and their reps are assigned geographic territories. So they are very familiar with school rankings, reports, strength of curriculum and achievement levels and other information. Taking core classes (non-Honor, or AP classes) to get by with a grade “A” will not be sufficient enough for fairly, very or highly selective schools. Furthermore if your high school offers Honor or AP classes I would suggest taking them. By taking either one you are demonstrating to the universities your desire for higher education. In addition admission officers are searching for candidates that can handle the rigors of college, challenging courses that would signal you have academic grit to succeed at their university. Many Students are being guided by counselors at their local high schools to ensure they meet state requirements. In California those requirements are A-G both UC and CSU universities require these to be completed and can be core, honors or AP classes. In Texas, students must meet the requirements of Texas’s Foundations High School Program. In Florida there are five choices. Every state has its own requirements for their public university school system. Each Private University also has its own requirements as well; For Instance UC School may only require 3 years of Mathematics, and 3 years of Science. Whereas in Ivy League school may require 4 years of Mathematics and 3 years of laboratory Science with 4 years including Physics. Make sure you are taking all the correct classes need to be admitted to the universities of choice. Don’t make any assumptions and do your homework. Taking AP of Honor classes can help your transcripts look impressive, but more isn’t always better. In addition, many parents and students are under the impression that taking AP classes will give them college credit and lower the cost of tuition. The answer is Yes/No. Every university is different and you must verify what there guidelines are some of these classes may not translate to any College Credit and vary from each institution. Therefore you are not saving any money. Some universities may accept the class as a placement which will allow you take advance courses or you may take a similar course. If you take the AP exam and score a 3 that doesn’t look as favorable as 4 or 5’s. Highly & selective Universities expect their candidates to be enrolled in the most challenging courses. Students need to focus on those classes they have great interest, fits towards career path, major and university. Also keep in mind, if your student (should be) is involved in extracurricular activities like; clubs, service projects, sports, band, cheer, or hold leadership positions. They will be extremely be very stressed and busy especially during their junior year. Here’s an example of students taking the wrong classes. I have counseled students that are English, journalism, or Art majors. They are extremely strong at these subjects and very weak at mathematics. They are in 11th grade taking AP Stats or AP Calculus, struggling, risking a B/C. Instead they should be taking an Honors Mathematics class or just Calculus. Their emphasis should be (English majors) AP Lit, AP Lang and (Art majors) AP Art and AP Studio Art. It doesn’t make sense to take an AP class for higher GPA if you are struggling with subject that doesn’t pertain to your major.