If you ask this quiz to your high school counselor or the admissions committee, 99.9% of the time they would say it’s better to have a high GPA while taking rigorous classes. Well, DUH! This is assuming that we’re in a perfect world.
Geniuses aside, almost every student is going to engage a hit in their GPA if they grasp tough classes. If I could decide between 4.0-Easy and 3.0-Hard. I will retract 4.0-Easy any day. Why? When the admissions committee gape the “3.0″ on the transcript, they will for determined throw it in the “rejection” pile without ever even going over the details of the courses. This is especially lawful for job applications. Firms require you keep your GPA on your resume, and even interrogate college transcripts from you. They say the same things such as “we not only spy for marvelous grades, but also want to contemplate you taking animated courses” that kind of crap. But at the of the day, all they inspect for is that magic 4.0. I’ve seen college students pick ridiculously easy classes like “Introduction to Mathematics” unbiased to net an A. And they land interviews from the most prestigious and selective firms, and subsequently got offers, making 100K straight out of college. I’m not saying the same would apply to college admissions, but there’s certainly some truth in that. A 4.0 application looks impressive no matter how you sight at it, and certainly wont be thrown straight to rejection pile.
This is how I survey it, accept an “optimal” combination of GPA and course load. space a “minimum” GPA for yourself, say 3.7. Then recall as many as tough classes as you can without getting lower than a 3.7. That scheme, you’ll have a genuine mix of tough courses on your transcript. With that, you’ll have the succor of doubt for taking some easy classes. To reiterate, never ever acquire tough course at the expense of a grievous GPA. It’s almost never worth it.