Most families assume the formula for college success is simple: Take the hardest classes possible and hope it helps with admissions and scholarships. And, oh, by the way, hopefully you'll save money overall.

 But here's the problem with that: Choosing the wrong mix can create unnecessary stress, lower grades, or even wasted money later on. 

 Yikes. 

We’ll walk through how to choose the best high school classes below.

How to Choose the Best High School Classes for You

We’ll walk through the best ways to choose high school classes, no matter your year of high school.

Examine Your Goals

First, examine your goals. What are your future goals, and do you think you need 16 AP classes to make your future goals happen? In other words, if you plan to attend an affordable, less competitive in-state institution, you likely won’t need that many AP classes to make it happen.

On the other hand, if you know you’ll need rigorous classes to ensure your goals of a competitive institution get met, consider spreading them out so it’s not such a challenge. No matter what, don’t just take challenging classes because your best friend is doing it.

Also, your goals should match the classes you plan to take. For example, if you want to go into pre-medicine, should you be taking as many math and science classes as possible? Absolutely. (That goes without saying.)

Similarly, no matter your future major, take classes that align with them — and still take classes that challenge you.

Consider Your Timeline

This is a wild question, but how many years would you like to take to graduate from college? In this day and age, many students can get so many credits during high school that they can have their associate’s degree before they ever leave college. Do you really want to graduate from college in two years and miss out on that “bookend experience” of having four years of genuine growth? It’s worth pondering deep and hard. 

Explore Interests, but Go Deep

Don't fill every elective slot with what you think colleges want.

Band, choir, art, journalism, agriculture, industrial tech, theater, and family and consumer science can all strengthen an application when they reflect genuine interests. Admissions readers will take note of those types of classes, but not if you just take a random ceramics course and call art quits after that.

Consider the Requirements

What are the requirements for the colleges and universities you’re considering? Four years of foreign language? Just two? Check them out before you get too crazy into the weeds of taking classes and forget about the overall requirements. It’s also understandable that you may not know when you’re a freshman, but you should know by junior year what your career plan is (or at least have some idea of it), so evaluate the requirements at several schools you’re interested in. If you’ve only taken a year of French by this point, consider taking an extra class at a community college over the summer to satisfy the requirement.

If you’re college-bound, here’s an easy guide: Prioritize the core academic subjects. Colleges pay the most attention to:

• English
• Math
• Science
• Social studies
• Foreign language

These areas generally matter more than loading up on random electives, but do this carefully to ensure you’re opting for the right classes for you. For example, you might afford to go a little lighter on science classes if you want to be a political science major, yet load up on social studies and history classes, and future engineers should take the highest level of math and science they can handle. Future business majors should prioritize math, economics, and statistics. Future writers or communications majors should take advanced English and social sciences.

Opt for Workshop-Style Classes

Don’t forget to check out workshop-style with hands-on projects. Those yield portfolio material that many colleges will evaluate for both entrance and scholarships. Many esports classes or related content classes have projects such as producing a video, designing a website, hosting or casting a livestream, coordinating a tournament, and more. These provide valuable experience as well as skills documentation.

Evaluate Challenging Classes Carefully

Each option serves a different purpose. This isn’t an exhaustive list of all options, but it’s a good start, but it’s important to balance burnout along with everything else we’ve listed above:

• AP classes: AP courses can strengthen college applications and may lead to college credit. But credit depends on exam scores AND each college’s policy. Some students work incredibly hard only to find out their credits won’t transfer the way they expected. If you get a 2 on an AP test, you just might not get credit for it.
• Dual enrollment: Dual enrollment allows students to earn actual college credits while still in high school, often at little to no cost. In some cases, this can save families thousands in future tuition. But credits don’t always transfer cleanly to every college, especially highly selective schools.
• CLEP exams: CLEP exams allow students to test out of certain college classes without taking the full course. They’re often one of the least expensive ways to earn college credit, and many families overlook them completely. However, check colleges' policies to learn more.
• Honors classes: Honors courses can offer a strong academic challenge without the intensity and stress level of AP. For many students balancing sports, jobs, activities, or anxiety, honors classes may provide the healthiest balance while still keeping grades strong.

The Biggest Mistake Families Make

The biggest mistake families make is assuming “more rigor” automatically means “better.” Strategic rigor matters more. 

 So, what does all this mean for you? Ultimately, the best high school course plan depends on your student’s academic strengths, their stress level and workload, their college goals, and whether reducing future college costs matters to your family. 

And never, ever sacrifice sleep, activities, and mental health for an overloaded schedule.

Melissa Brock is an editor, freelance writer, essay and college coach, and founder of College Money Tips. She spent 12 years in college admission as an admission counselor and senior associate director of admission. She was the author of Game On! — an article about esports for the Journal of College Admission. She works with esports students and families to help them identify the right college fit for them. Reach out for help at melissa@collegemoneytips.com.