Here at Ivy Coach, we’ve made it our mission to debunk the major misconceptions that swirl around the elite college admissions process. As any faithful reader of our blog will know, preparing for elite college admission is not just a matter of locking in during your senior year of high school. It’s essential that academically ambitious students thoroughly plan out their high school curriculum as early as possible to optimize their odds of admission to a top university. During this crucial planning process, some will have you believe that the most competitive high schoolers take various elective classes covering unusual topics to stand out from other applicants. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth!

When admissions officers examine an applicant’s transcript, they’re looking for one thing: academic excellence in core subject areas. What are these core subject areas? When you imagine a straightforward high school curriculum, you think of math, science, social studies, English, and foreign language studies. These are the core subjects. They are the most essential part of any transcript. Elite schools take performance in these courses as an indicator of a student’s preparation for college-level material. When it comes to core subjects, the more the merrier! At Ivy Coach, we also recommend that letters of recommendation come from junior year teachers in one of these core subjects for these reasons.

Unique Classes Make You Seem Less Unique to Admissions Officers

Many high schools these days, particularly private schools, offer unorthodox courses to students looking to explore a subject off the beaten path. These can include video game programming, entrepreneurship, and even cooking. Aside from the non-core classes required for graduation, like physical education and art classes, these unconventional subjects should be avoided like the plague by anyone with their sights set on an elite college education. Taking these classes will not make you seem creative and original — they will make you seem like you’ve phoned it in! Of course, if you intend to apply to a prestigious art school with a healthy array of art classes under your belt, by all means, ignore this advice! But for most private research universities and liberal arts college-bound students, admissions officers want to see that you’ve mastered the basics of a rigorous education before you showcase any other disciplines. 

But still, high schoolers must enroll in some electives to fill the gaps in their schedules. Which classes will optimize their odds of an elite undergraduate education?

The Ivy Coach Solution: Double Up on AP Courses and Core Subjects!

The solution to this coursework dilemma is simple: fill in the gaps in your schedule where you would otherwise enroll in electives with extra core subjects. Not only will you be showing college admissions officers that learning comes easily to you and that you’re not afraid of a challenge, but you will also have the opportunity to sit for as many AP exams as possible, assuming your school offers a wide variety of core subjects at a rigorous level. Two classes that are the perfect example of core subjects masking as electives are AP Statistics and AP Environmental Science. Students who take these courses in addition to their respective math or science courses will have an extra AP exam score to include on their college applications.

For those of you worried that you will have to sacrifice something you’re passionate about to double up on a core subject, we encourage you to think of all the possibilities of academic self-actualization that will be available to you once you make it onto an elite college campus. High school is only the beginning of your intellectual journey. Make the sacrifices now to reap the benefits of a diverse and stimulating undergraduate education later!

If you’re interested in optimizing your child’s case for admission to a highly selective university, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch.