Core College Requirements For Classes And Grades
The most basic requirement for entrance into the college of your choice is good grades. The simple fact is that students who have higher grades will receive more attention from the admissions department of any college and will also be offered more financial aid.
If you are interested in an Ivy League school such as Harvard, then you will often need a minimum of a 3.5 GPA (Grade Point Average) to be considered. Most other colleges will lean towards higher GPAs of 3.0 and above. While other elements are considered, such as your test scores,application essay, recommendations from teachers and extracurricular activities, it is a general consensus that good grades are the most important requirement.
That said, what should you do if you find that your grades aren’t as high as they should be? The answer is quite simple - improve them. Admissions officers will take into consideration grades that show improvement from freshman year to senior year. What they don’t expect, or want to see is your grades going down. If your overall GPA isn’t as high as you’d like it to be, but you can show that you raised your GPA as you got closer to graduation, then colleges are more likely to show lenience towards your overall grade point average, particularly if the rest of your application is impressive.
Colleges also look at your high school transcript for specific courses. It is important to meet these basic college requirements. While these may vary from school to school, in general there are certain classes that college-bound students need to have taken and mastered. They include: Four years of math:
· Algebra I (preferably taken in middle school)
· Geometry
· At least two: algebra II, trigonometry, pre-calculus, and calculus.
Four years of English:
· Composition
· American literature
· English literature
· World literature
Two to three years of history and geography:
· Geography
· U.S. history
· U.S. government, world history, world cultures, civics
Three to four years of laboratory science:
· Biology
· Earth science
· Chemistry
· Physics
Three to four years of foreign language:
· Spanish
· French
· Italian, Russian, etc.
One to two years of arts classes:
· Art, dance, drama, or music
One to three years of challenging electives such as:
· Economics
· Psychology
· Computer science
· Statistics
· Communications
The important thing to keep in mind is that when a college reviews your classes and grades, the first thing they do is rule out those who don’t meet their basic college requirements. If you can meet these basic college requirements, then you can use the rest of your college application to secure your place at your chosen college.