Navigating the academic course selection process is not free of external pressures from friends and family, and even oneself. At times, it feels as though everyone has an agenda to push: whether it’s for college-related purposes or the idealistic view of a “good student,” course selection season brings a slew of daunting factors.
Notably, the stigma associated with the course selection process perpetuates the rhetoric that, in order to “do well in school,” students must stockpile their schedules with rigorous courses.
Reader, this expectation could not be farther from the truth.
Though it may sound trite and tired, the truth is that your intuition is far more important than anything else. When selecting courses, take time to reflect to consciously and productively set yourself up for academic and mental success.
Archer is abundant with overachieving, brilliant students — but that brilliance is not and should not be determined based on the number of accelerated and Advanced Study courses we do or do not take. As students, we are no more or less valuable human beings based on our course load. The weight of our GPAs is not synonymous with the weight of our importance as thinkers and creatives.
Furthermore, the classes you enroll in directly determine your academic success — whether you choose to pursue a more rigorous course load is entirely dependent on the workload best suited for you. Accelerated and Advanced Study courses are excellent opportunities to dive deeper into your passions as a young academic; from seminars on fairytales and hyperreality to courses surrounding female evolutionary biology, Archer offers opportunities for further enrichment in every area of interest.
With that in mind, it is imperative to note that taking a certain number of weighted courses does not always equate to increased success in the college application process, even though many colleges consider course rigor in the admissions process. For instance, if you load up with too much work, the likelihood of your academic success and work ethic being substantial enough to “look good for college” decreases considerably.
Contrary to popular belief, pursuing areas of your academic passions rather than what you feel you should be doing will set you up for substantially more success than succumbing to external pressures. When selecting your courses, prioritize increasing rigor in areas you truly love — Archer likely offers a course aligning with your passion. Furthermore, with the recent addition of new courses, such as cosmetic chemistry, new opportunities continuously emerge for you to delve deeper into your interests.
With that in mind, it is time we rewrite the narrative of what makes a “good student”; rather than maintaining preset expectations and fostering a culture of toxic competition, we should evaluate academic excellence based on individuality, rather than on the broader scale of “good” and “bad.”
So, upon course requests opening up this spring, we implore you to reflect and approach your selection holistically. Be mindful of the work you are signing up to take on — only select the courses that will benefit you as a learner. Think about what excites you as a learner — what makes you look forward to going to class everyday?
Remember, you are as much a human as you are a student.
