In my family core academic requirements were not the key to admission to Ivies (2 kids). Just offering an alternative viewpoint in order to minimize stress. For instance, colleges understand that pursuit of high level music (or perhaps mycology1) might impact course choices. As a general rule, of course take the classes that challenge you, but not at a level that compromises your outside interests like music and fungi. We actually used online classes (accepted by the school) to provide flexibility in scheduling.
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