I did not consciously look for strategies to boost my GPA in high school however, one could say that my large number of weighted college level courses was my strategy to a higher GPA and class ranking. In reality I was just thinking about my future desire to be an Aerospace Engineer.
In 8th grade my mother offered up a choice for high school. I could stay in my current districted high school, or I could transfer to the high school she teaches at. When making a pro and con list one thing glaringly stood out. At my mom’s school freshman could take up to three Advanced Placement courses, at the other school freshmen were not allowed to take any AP classes unless you were in the Governor’s School program. Ultimately this was the deciding factor in choosing to transfer over to her school. I truly did not make the decision due to the affect it may have on my GPA. I wanted the chance to be in a more intellectual environment, with excellent teachers.
My freshman year ended up being entirely online due to COVID-19. I opted to take two AP classes. It was a struggle, the high level classes I was looking forward to were not the same in an online environment, but I ultimately was successful. Heading into my sophomore year I chose to continue on the path of taking Advanced Placement courses and was also able to add some really great electives in computers and technology. I enjoyed the discussions and had excellent teachers in these courses. Junior year I bumped it up a notch taking three AP classes and also two Dual Enrollment classes through my local community college. I struggled balancing these challenging classes, as well as all of my other requirements and electives. My mother suggested maybe backing off my senior year and only taking college level math and science courses. I instead chose to continue to challenge myself. I am currently taking two AP classes, two DE classes, and four other elective courses, three being in STEM.
This is the year that I feel maybe my plan is backfiring. Many of my classmates are taking only the required 2-4 classes they need to graduate and getting top marks. Taking eight classes, four being of high caliber, along with trying to enjoy senior year has slightly dropped my GPA and my class ranking. So this strategy works to an extent, but it depends not only on understanding the difficult material, but also having the time for the sheer amount of work that is given. If I had not taken the large amount of college level courses maybe my GPA would have been higher. It was always my hope that all of the engineering schools would rather see a person taking challenging courses, especially in math and science, rather than taking the easy road. It has paid off and I was accepted into five engineering schools.
With all of that being said, I am so glad I was able to take advantage of all of these wonderful opportunities my school has to offer. Even though some of my classmates may be boosting their GPAs by doing the bare minimum as seniors, I am enjoying learning from the wonderfully knowledgeable teachers and engaging in meaningful discussions with classmates. After all, this is probably one of the last times I will be able to take classes like this for free. It is my hope that this rigorous course load has helped prepare me to enter an engineering program.