My daughter will be applying to 12-14 colleges this fall, including most if not all the UCs, for one of the less competitive majors. She needs to choose an additional senior year elective and can basically choose between an honors class she’s not particularly interested in and a nonhonors class that she is. Depending on her choice, she will have either 9 or 10 total AP/honors. I don’t think there will be an appreciable difference in workload between the two despite the honors designation, and her counselor has assured us she qualifies as having taken the “most rigorous curriculum” from her high school’s perspective no matter what choice she makes. Also, neither class relates very much to her major (she has taken or will take all AP/honors relevant to what she wants to study). My question relates to the way UC presents information about applicants (see link below). To be in the highest category for total honors/AP, you need 10 or more classes. What we are wondering is whether this is just a somewhat arbitrary cutoff (so that 9 vs. 10 wouldn’t actually matter that much) or, alternatively, a threshold that is meaningful in admissions. She would prefer to enroll in the nonhonors class but would take the honors one if it would make a material difference to her chances at UCs. Thanks!