Road to a top college: Classes that stand out in high school

As Cindy Chanin, founder and director of Rainbow Education Consulting & Tutoring in Los Angeles, Calif., put it, your course load is not about what you take so much as it is about why you take certain classes. “So many students feel inordinate pressure to take as many APs / IBs / honors as they can cram into their already busy schedules. If the course load is having diminishing returns, you are better off taking fewer demanding courses and allocating time and energy towards passion projects [and] entrepreneurial endeavors,” she said.