what is considered a rigorous course

Simply put, rigor is the academic or intellectual challenge of a class. The more difficult the class, the more rigorous it is. More often than not, academic rigor does not refer to a single class, but a number of them within a student’s schedule.

Full Answer

What Does Rigorous or Challenging Mean?

What Does a Rigorous High School Course Load Look Like?

What About Life Outside My Schoolwork?

How to think about a rigorous curriculum?

What should my transcript show?

What to do if your school lacks advanced study options?

Do you have to follow the schedule for classes?

See 4 more

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What is considered a rigorous course load?

In a rigorous course load, electives can be the bridge between what you need to do and what you want to do. Courses such as visual art, theater, journalism, computer science, and philosophy can ultimately demonstrate your passions and interests to colleges.

Are honors classes considered rigorous?

Both honors and AP courses are rigorous courses that most high schools weight more heavily on your transcript. AP courses, however, culminate in the AP Exam. Good AP scores show colleges you are ready to succeed at college-level work and can even earn you college credits.

How rigorous are college classes?

In summary, college classes are definitely harder than high school classes: the topics are more complicated, the learning is more fast-paced, and the expectations for self-teaching are much higher. HOWEVER, college classes are not necessarily harder to do well in.

Do colleges look at course rigor?

Keep in mind, however, that colleges look at course rigor in the context of the high school itself, which is where strength of school comes in. If a high school is seen as not as academically strong and offers few advanced courses, colleges will take that into consideration.

Is a B+ in an honors class good?

The short answer is that it's better to get a "B" in the AP or Honors class because selective colleges want to see that students are challenging themselves academically, but also that they're mastering the material.

Is course rigor more important than GPA?

Schools having a holistic approach to admissions consider course rigor and grades in specific classes more critical than the overall GPA (Grade Point Average). They want to see that students take the most rigorous course load that they can responsibly handle while staying mentally and emotionally healthy.

What is the hardest class to take in college?

Organic Chemistry: It shouldn't surprise you that organic chemistry takes the No. 1 spot as the hardest college course. This course is often referred to as the “pre-med killer” because it actually has caused many pre-med majors to switch their major.

What is the easiest course in college?

9 Easiest College Classes For SuccessFilm History. If you're imagining that you'll be sitting in a theatre and watching films all the time, then you're only somewhat wrong. ... Creative Writing. There are infinite ways to tell a story. ... Physical Education. ... Psychology. ... Public Speaking. ... Anthropology. ... Art History. ... Acting.More items...

What is a rigorous academic subject?

College Advising. “Academic rigor” refers to academic experiences (course content, homework, exams, essays) that are intellectually challenging.

Is a GPA of 3.8 good?

Is a 3.8 GPA Good? GPA is measured on a 4.0 scale, with 4.0 correlating to flawless straight As every semester. A 3.8 GPA is only two tenths of a point below that “perfect” GPA, demonstrating consistent performance at a high level.

How can I raise my GPA fast?

Here are 15 ways you can earn higher grades and improve your GPA overall:Avoid classes you don't need.Meet with a tutor.Speak with your instructors.Set goals for yourself.Turn in assignments on time.Join a study group.Study topics as you go.Improve note-taking skills.More items...

Does senior year class rigor matter?

UCs do look at courses you take in senior year and take the rigor into consideration when evaluating you for admission; but as long as you maintain satisfactory grades (typically an unweighted B average, with no non-passing grades, is sufficient), your performance in your senior year courses will not affect your ...

Do colleges care about honors classes?

So yes, colleges do care whether students take AP, IB, and honors courses.

What is rigorous curriculum for high school?

A rigorous high school curriculum requires challenging instruction and support for each student to meet high standards.

Are honor classes weighted?

AP and Honors Level courses are weighted by adding quality points to the final grade.

What is the difference between honors and regular classes?

Honors classes are a step above regular classes. They are more in-depth on a subject and usually move at a faster pace. Additionally, they are more demanding in terms of preparation, time, and studying. Teachers typically expect more out of students when they are taking an honors class.

What is the most rigorous high school school schedule you know of?

Answer (1 of 2): The Washington Post ranks the most challenging high schools each year. BASIS Oro Valley tops the list this year. https://apps.washingtonpost.com ...

Rigorous High School Curriculums | Rigor of Coursework | Ivy Coach

Students Seeking To Earn Admission To Our Nation's Most Elite Universities Should Pursue The Most Rigorous High School Curriculums And Then Some. Learn More!

An Empirically-Derived Index of High School Academic Rigor

Jeff Allen is a statistician in the Research division at ACT.He specializes in longitudinal research linking test scores to educational outcomes and student growth models. Edwin Ndum is a research scientist in Statistical and Applied Research. He does research on reliability and validity of test scores, differential prediction, and mediating

Course Load for High School Seniors | Great College Advice

Mark is the Founder and CEO of Great College Advice, a national college admissions consulting firm. As a career educator, he has served as a college administrator, professor of international relations at the University of Denver and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, program consultant at Yale and the University of Kansas, government instructor at Harvard and Tufts, high school ...

What Does Rigorous or Challenging Mean?

First off, what does the vague word "rigor" actually mean? And why do colleges value seeing you challenge yourself?

What Does a Rigorous High School Course Load Look Like?

Chances are, you've heard the phrase "rigorous course load" before. You probably even know that this is something colleges really look for in applications for admission.

What About Life Outside My Schoolwork?

One of the qualities colleges also look for in applicants is your time-management skills.

How to think about a rigorous curriculum?

Another way to think about a rigorous curriculum is to imagine your high school experience as an uphill climb. Most of the time you want to be farther up the mountain than where you were previously, hiking up steeper and steeper terrain and using everything you've learned to help you keep going.

What should my transcript show?

Your transcripts should show how you've taken full advantage of the challenges available to you at your school—but always within reason, of course. This means that you should take progressively more difficult classes in each topic each year rather than jumping from intro class to intro class.

What to do if your school lacks advanced study options?

Whether your school lacks advanced study options or lacks subjects you find especially compelling, one option is to take classes outside your school. Ask yourself the following questions:

Do you have to follow the schedule for classes?

Note that you do not have to follow these schedules exactly when planning what courses to take, since your school's course offerings, your state's graduation requirements, and your own interests will likely differ from what we include below. That said, feel free to use it as a rough guide for how you might want to plan your future class schedule.

Context

This is the first thing to know about academic rigor: it is going to depend on your student’s individual high school. Academic rigor at one high school may actually be different than the high school across town, due to their course offerings.

Course Sequence

Beyond the context of your high school, fortunately, colleges also will consider your child’s schedule in the context of itself. Not every student has to be taking the highest level courses that are offered, to be able to get into college. The idea is that they need to take the courses that are challenging to them personally .

Start Early

Understanding academic rigor early in high school, or even in middle school is important in the application process. Very often, impactful decisions about high school curriculum end up being made at the end of eighth grade, when students schedule for high school.

School Counselors

As part of the application process, school counselors must also give feedback . Among other things, they are asked to check a box about students’ course selections.

Finally,

I am often asked whether colleges prefer that a student take a regular class and get an A or an Honors class, where they may get a B? Obviously, an A will look better. But from a standpoint of taking an academically rigorous high school schedule, the more challenging course is better.

Characteristics of a Rigorous Bachelor's Degree Program

While the curricula and difficulty of bachelor's degree programs vary from school to school, rigorous programs like those featured below tend to require extensive lab work and courses with large homework loads.

Engineering

In addition to general education and core engineering courses, electives in a specialization like biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering or mechanical engineering are typically part of a bachelor's program in this field.

Pre-Medicine

Students hoping to attend medical school need to complete pre-medicine requirements that include courses in mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry. Many schools don't have specific pre-medicine degree programs, so students complete pre-medicine requirements as well as completing coursework for their major.

Architecture

Earning a professional bachelor's degree in architecture, which in many states is required for licensure, takes five years. Students learn about the history and theory of architecture and building science. They also work with advanced drafting software and might have to build detailed 3-dimensional models.

What Does Rigorous or Challenging Mean?

First off, what does the vague word "rigor" actually mean? And why do colleges value seeing you challenge yourself?

What Does a Rigorous High School Course Load Look Like?

Chances are, you've heard the phrase "rigorous course load" before. You probably even know that this is something colleges really look for in applications for admission.

What About Life Outside My Schoolwork?

One of the qualities colleges also look for in applicants is your time-management skills.

How to think about a rigorous curriculum?

Another way to think about a rigorous curriculum is to imagine your high school experience as an uphill climb. Most of the time you want to be farther up the mountain than where you were previously, hiking up steeper and steeper terrain and using everything you've learned to help you keep going.

What should my transcript show?

Your transcripts should show how you've taken full advantage of the challenges available to you at your school—but always within reason, of course. This means that you should take progressively more difficult classes in each topic each year rather than jumping from intro class to intro class.

What to do if your school lacks advanced study options?

Whether your school lacks advanced study options or lacks subjects you find especially compelling, one option is to take classes outside your school. Ask yourself the following questions:

Do you have to follow the schedule for classes?

Note that you do not have to follow these schedules exactly when planning what courses to take, since your school's course offerings, your state's graduation requirements, and your own interests will likely differ from what we include below. That said, feel free to use it as a rough guide for how you might want to plan your future class schedule.