The short answer: rigor matters—but not at the expense of a student’s mental health or overall well-being.

Colleges want to see that a student is challenging themselves appropriately, not drowning in coursework. Admissions officers look for progression over time—students gradually taking more demanding classes as they grow academically and emotionally.

Just as important: rigor is always evaluated in context. Colleges assess a student’s course load based on what their specific high school offers. A student who begins AP or honors courses in junior year because that’s when their school allows it is not compared to a student at a school where APs are available starting freshman year. Students are measured against their environment, not against an imaginary national standard.

That said, rigor isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some students can handle advanced coursework academically but experience intense internal pressure to be perfect. When that pressure leads to anxiety, burnout, or declining mental health, pushing for maximum rigor can do more harm than good. For those students, we suggest it may be smarter and healthier to scale back slightly and encourage them to invest their energy in other meaningful areas: extracurricular involvement, leadership, creative pursuits, work, or community service that are as important, if not more than, the rigor of their coursework.

Colleges are not looking for perfection. They are looking for thoughtful challenge, balance, and self-awareness. A student who chooses a course load they can manage well—and uses the rest of their time to grow, contribute, and stay healthy—often presents as a stronger, more compelling applicant than one who is overwhelmed and burned out.

Our message to our students who are picking their classes. “Challenge yourself, yes. Sacrifice your well-being, no.”