Choosing Your Senior Year Courses and Why That Matters

“’How will this look for colleges…?’ is the most common question I get from juniors as they select senior year courses,” reports longtime college counselor Eric Monheim. For sure, the quality of an applicant’s senior year program—and the grades achieved in that course of study—is a foundational element of the academic assessment of every application to a selective college. This week, AB host Lee Coffin answers the question: “Does 12th grade count?” as high school juniors select their senior year curriculum. Guests Elena Hicks, SMU’s assistant vice provost and dean of admissions, and Monheim, the director of college counseling at St. Mark’s School in Massachusetts, give a resounding “Yes!” to that simple question. Senior year counts, so pick your courses wisely.

Om Podcasten

On the Admissions Beat, veteran dean of admissions Lee Coffin from Dartmouth College and a range of guests provide high school students and parents, as well as their counselors and other mentors, with "news you can use" at each step on the pathway to college. With a welcoming, reassuring perspective and an approach intended to build confidence in prospective applicants, Dean Coffin offers credible information, insights, and guidance—from the earliest days of the college search, to applications, decision-making, and arrival on campus. He does so by drawing on nearly 30 years of experience as an admissions leader at some of the nation's most prestigious institutions.