What is the most important thing colleges look at when looking at transcripts? Colleges, of course, will look at your GPA but how you finish off that GPA is also important.

Many think that junior year is the most important year for grades, but what gets overlooked is how many classes a student takes his or her senior year. Students chose course loads for senior year depending on their situations. But what they chose to do could have some impact on where they end up after high school.

Through polling a small sample size of 15 senior students at Harriton (including myself), I discovered that many students take a “standard” number of courses in their first 3 years of school, but come senior year, there was a change made.

Of the 15 interviewed, 7 were taking fewer classes than in years past, 4 were taking more classes, and the remaining 4 were taking roughly the same number that they had in the previous 3 years.

I also realized that the 6 classes I took in the first 3 years of high school was a pretty standard load. That can be explained fairly easily. Starting in freshman year, one is required to take at least 5 core classes, History, English, Math, Science, and a Foreign Language. In addition, one is given the option to choose one, two, or no electives for each semester.

Not choosing an elective would leave a student with seven study halls a cycle (not accounting for challenge, power, or other similar courses), choosing one elective would leave a student with four (or one a day if you are lucky), and picking two electives leaves a student with one study hall in a four day cycle.

Most students chose to take one elective each semester in order to have one study hall each semester. Students typically continue this trend until senior year.

Then things get interesting come senior year. Most students, if they have followed the typical 6 courses a semester approach, will have no issue with meeting the necessary credits to graduate. Come senior year, students are also no longer required to take math, science, or a foreign language because only 3 credits are necessary in those subjects.

This gives the student a choice of dropping one or two of them and adding extra electives to meet the required 5.25 credits a semester. But taking more classes for senior year could impress colleges when examining a transcript.

So seniors have an option, do they want to take a minimum, average, or maximum number of classes senior year? I polled some of my fellow seniors to see what they thought was the correct method. Out of respect for their privacy all the students interviewed will remain anonymous.

Some, like me, chose to take fewer classes. Some also, since it is no longer required, chose to drop one of their core classes such as math, science or language. I actually chose to drop both a science and foreign language, allowing me to take two electives this year. People chose this route for a few different reasons.

One student said “I wanted a manageable course load for the upcoming year and wanted to be able to take classes that were challenging, but since I had less time, I could focus on them more and be able to succeed.”

Another student, who plays multiple varsity sports, said, “I just wanted to be able to relax senior year after being so stressed by junior year.”

Then there was the group who chose to challenge themselves this year and took more classes than they had in years.

One of these students said “I wanted to take the maximum number of classes I could take so I can learn how to manage my time for college next year.”

“I feel like it will prepare me to deal with the pressure I could face in the next year,” another said. The student also told me that he thought it would impress the colleges he was applying to.

All the students polled who said that they chose to take the same number of classes said they weren’t thinking about the number of classes they were taking. They just thought to take the “standard number” of classes (5 cores and one elective).

It is important to note that taking the maximum number of courses won’t always mean that colleges will be impressed by your schedule. Conversely it also means that taking the minimum number of courses won’t always make you look like a slacker. It all depends on the situation and the level of course taken.

For example, taking just five courses, but having them all at AP level will look just fine to colleges, and they could actually be impressed.

It really all depends on the student and how he or she preformed before. If a student did well their first three years, then maybe they can reward themselves with a lighter schedule. Students must think long and hard about what they want for their senior year; it may have a large affect on their future.