Encourage your teen to explore electives with intention. They don’t have to map their whole future, but each choice should come from curiosity, not convenience. When electives reflect both who your student is and who they’re becoming, colleges take notice.

 Ask almost any college and they’ll likely agree that they aren’t looking for students to specialize in high school. They prefer students to demonstrate that they can be successful within the five core course types because that is what they will be expected to do in college.

Academic rigor is one of those buzz phrases you’ll read and hear a lot during college preparation research. It is regularly touted as the most important aspect to any college reviewing your application, yet pinning down what exactly constitutes academic rigor can be murky at best.