What is your opinion on this statement? (see details...)?

Question

This ACT college planning site for High School Students(www.actstudent.org/college/plancourses.html) states:

"The courses you take in high school show colleges what kind of goals you set for yourself. Are you signing up for advanced classes, honors sections, or accelerated sequences? Are you choosing electives that really stretch your mind and help you develop new abilities? Or are you doing just enough to get by?"

What does this statement mean to you? And how does this relate to graduation requirements?

Thanks in advance!!! :)

Answer 1

What they are suggesting is that more than just your GPA matters; schools want to see a rigorous academic program as well. If you took the easiest courses possible so that you could get by with reasonable grades, it doesn't look too good to most colleges.

With regard to requirements, what it really says is that you should take the requirements as a starting point, but then go beyond them as far as you are able to go. If you give up math and languages early because you have met the basic requirements of your school, it will be obvious to colleges that you aren't willing to do more than is absolutely required. A lot of college is self-direction, and if you have not shown a propensity to take chances, their assumption will be that this behavior will continue in college.