Demonstrating the difficulty of my classes to colleges

Applying to College
1

<p>I go to a state-run high school that offers only college-level classes taught by a PhD faculty. The school is well regarded within my state as being the best, and our average senior class of 120 students routinely has students get admitted to HPYS as well as other big name schools like Notre Dame, NYU, Duke, etc. </p>

<p>The problem? My school does not offer an AP or IB curriculum. Instead, they base everything off an undergraduate college curriculum. Here are just a few of the unique classes I’ve been able to take/will take:
Modern Presidential Politics
Physics III
Latin Poetry
Emergence of Modern Russia II
U.S. Foreign Policy
Calculus III</p>

<p>How can I explain to colleges that I am taking a rigorous curriculum? Or do you think colleges will understand I am taking challenging courses based on my transcript?</p>

2

<p>Your GC will explain it with the recommendation form. Don’t sweat it.</p>

3

<p>If your school is as good you say it is, I’m sure colleges will know of it and factor it into the discussion. However, even with such a good school, if you’re performing poorly, they might wonder about you. But you shouldn’t worry about explaining your classes. Your school’s reputation does that automatically for you.</p>

4

<p>I’m in a similar situation as you are sleepy. Your GC should attach a school profile to the schools you’re applying to that tells about your high school. If your HS sends kids to HYPS regularly, it seems that those schools understand.</p>