Common App counselor Honors classes question

[blue plaid]

Help!  In part because I agonize and overthink.  Common App wants to know the number of Honors courses offered, and the maximum number a student can take. 

Fearless homeschoolers says to match the number of classes offered to the maximum number a student can take, and to include Dual Enrollment courses if you do so on the transcript. (Do you all do this?)

I am weighting dual enrollment courses on the transcript, but slightly differently than honors courses.  I am labeling the courses as dual enrollment, not specifically honors.  

Presumably I don't need to count all the possible courses he could take at the community college + other courses he could take as number of courses offered ...

So maybe my question is, it is ok/reasonable to count his dual enrollment courses as honors for the purpose of this question?? And to match the maximum with however many this ends up being?

 

[daijobu]

For my transcript I wanted to keep things simple.  I had simple rules for what counted as honors (AoPS, AP, what the instructor called "honors.").  I would put DE in that category unless you disagree.  

I didn't have more than 2 categories for weighting.  It's either honors or it isn't.  If you think all the DE courses are honors level, then give them that weight.  If they aren't, give them a regular weight. 

Maybe some DE courses are more akin to an honors level than others?  Then I think it's fine to decide which is which and give it the appropriate weight.  

I would not have 3 weights just because of the added complexity, I suspect that's pretty non-standard, and I don't anyone really cares about the nuance.  

I'm eager to hear what others have to say.  

[idnib]

I did 3 weights: regular, honors with +0.5, and DE/AP with +1.0.

I'm in CA so I file a private school affidavit and the number of honors/AP/DE classes offered by my school were the same as the number DS took. I don't think you would do your son a favor by counting all the possible classes he could have taken but didn't.

Edited September 16, 2023 by idnib

[blue plaid]

OK Thanks very much to both of you!  Right now I am using the same weights as idnib.  I appreciate the feedback!  I seem to be rather nervous about all of the Common App counselor stuff.

[kokotg]

21 hours ago, idnib said:

I did 3 weights: regular, honors with +0.5, and DE/AP with +1.0.

 

This is what I do, too, because it's what our local school system does

[Farrar]

IIRC, the number of courses question is optional. My rule of thumb is don't answer it for all Common App counselor questions that are optional. That question is meaningless for homeschoolers. And you should use the profile to characterize how your student exceeded the level of expected rigor.

[blue plaid]

21 hours ago, Farrar said:

IIRC, the number of courses question is optional. My rule of thumb is don't answer it for all Common App counselor questions that are optional. That question is meaningless for homeschoolers. And you should use the profile to characterize how your student exceeded the level of expected rigor.

I totally missed/did not know that a lot of the questions were optional! Going back to look, you are right, I don't have to answer those questions. Thank you!