In order to take full advantage of the rich curriculum at SAS and to prepare yourself for a successful and rewarding college experience, you should aim much higher than the SAS minimum graduation requirements. Admission officers at colleges and universities expect students to complete successfully a challenging set of courses. And while it is important to take challenging courses, it’s equally important that courses be chosen in which your chances of success are good. Earning D’s and F’s is never impressive, regardless of the course. If you can do successful work in advanced courses, you should be taking them. But remember, each student is different, and courses of study can and should vary from student to student. For a student who has interest in the science or engineering areas, for example, a high school program would probably contain more courses in the math and science areas. And finally, there is no magical number of AP or honors level courses that will result in a college acceptance. Please seek advice from your teachers and counselor as you decide your high school course of study. We’re all on the same team; we want you to be placed in courses where you will learn and be successful.

As a part of most college applications, counselors are asked to complete a "Secondary School Report." Among other things, this report asks about the SAS grading scale, how courses are weighted, and your GPA. It also asks counselors to rate the rigor of the student’s overall academic program. Although counselors must use some subjectivity, the following are the general guidelines used at SAS to rate a student’s program:

Less than demanding program
A student will graduate having met the minimum SAS graduation requirements.

Average program
A student meets the recommended college prep load as outlined on the SAS Four Year Plan.

Demanding program
A student will graduate having completed a demanding academic load that generally includes one or two honors courses and a few AP courses.

Very demanding
A student typically enrolls in five academic core courses each year and will graduate having completed 3 to 6 AP’s* or other highest-level courses.

Most demanding possible
A student enrolls in five academic core courses each year and will graduate having completed the highest-level courses in several academic areas. The transcript usually includes 7 or more AP’s*.

* It is important to understand that not all AP courses are viewed as equal. Although Environmental Science, Psychology, and Statistics are taught for a full year at SAS, they were originally written as semester-long courses and many college admission officers view them as less rigorous than the yearlong courses. AP considers them as semester-length courses in determining AP recognition awards. Admission officers often consider AP Literature to be more rigorous than AP Language.