Which High School Classes Do Top Colleges Require?

If you want to gain admission to the best colleges in America, you must take the right courses. Even if you get straight A's in every class in 9th, 10th, 11th, and the first semester (or trimester) of 12th grade, if you neglect to take the right courses, elite colleges might reject you. They care about which courses you took and how well you did in them.

This article will guide you on which courses the Ivy Leagues and other highly competitive colleges require. 

What are the Best Colleges in America?

First of all, let’s clarify what we mean by the best colleges in America. 

Now, of course, “best” is subjective. There is no single, definitive list. Take a look at how different education companies ranked America’s top schools for 2026.

Rank	US News	Niche	Forbes	Times Higher Education
1	Princeton University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Yale University	Columbia University	Princeton University
3	Harvard University	Stanford University	Princeton University	Harvard University
4	Stanford University   Yale University *Tie	Harvard University	Stanford University	Stanford University
5		Dartmouth College	University of California, Berkeley	California Institute of Technology
6	University of Chicago	Columbia University	Harvard University	University of California, Berkeley
7	Duke University Johns Hopkins University Northwestern University University of Pennsylvania *Tie	Vanderbilt University	Williams College	Yale University
8		Princeton University	Johns Hopkins University	University of Pennsylvania
9		California Institute of Technology	Yale University	The University of Chicago
10		Rice University	University of Pennsylvania	Johns Hopkins University

As you can see, four different companies, four different lists. Despite the differences in opinion, the majority of people in this country consider some colleges better than others. Since the term “best” is subjective, we will define the best colleges as those schools which most people subjectively believe are the best.

For simplicity, we will divide these best colleges into two categories: the Ivy League Schools and the Top Non-Ivy League Schools (also called Ivy Plus, New Ivies, Public Ivies, or Hidden Ivies). 

Ivy League Colleges

• Harvard University

• Yale University

• Princeton University

• Columbia University

• University of Pennsylvania

• Cornell University

• Brown University

• Dartmouth University

Top Non-Ivy League Schools*

• Stanford University

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

• University of Chicago

• Duke University

• Johns Hopkins University

• California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

• Boston College

• Georgetown University

• Northwestern University

• Vanderbilt University

• Emory University

• Rice University

• Wake Forest University

• Washington University in St. Louis (WashU)

• University of California, Berkeley

• University of California, Los Angeles

• Tufts University

• Wesleyan University

• Williams College

*The list above shows a large but incomplete list of the best non-Ivies in the nation. 

What courses do the Top Colleges require?

Now that we’ve identified the most elite colleges in the nation, let’s see what classes they want you to take. 

Generally, Ivy League and Ivy Plus colleges do not have a universal, mandated set of courses required for admission. These institutions treat all applications with a holistic review, and they recognize that not every high school offers the same course catalog. 

Having said that, however, nearly every accredited high school offers the key courses that colleges want students to take. These classes are the core classes needed for graduation: English, math, science, social studies, and a foreign language. 

If you read what each Ivy League school recommends, you’ll find that most suggest the following:

• Four years of English

• Four years of Math

• Three to four years of Lab Science (including Biology, Chemistry, and Physics)

• Three to four years of History and/or Social Studies

• Four years of a single foreign language

University	Admissions Page on High School Coursework
Harvard University	Are there secondary school course requirements for admission? | Harvard
Yale University	Applying to Yale College
Princeton University	Before You Apply | Princeton Admission
Columbia University	First-Year Applicants | Columbia Undergraduate Admissions
Brown University	Preparing for Brown | Undergraduate Admission
Dartmouth College	Does Dartmouth require specific high school courses?
Cornell University	What high school courses are required? - Frequently Asked Questions
University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)	Academics | Penn Admissions

If we assume that the Ivies have the same or higher standards than all the other colleges in America, we can reasonably conclude that you should take four years of all the core subjects: English, math, science, history and/or social studies, and foreign language. Although there is no official "required" checklist that will automatically disqualify you, following these recommendations will improve your chances of admission.

Beyond the core courses, feel free to take whichever electives you like. Take electives in courses that allow you to pursue your passions, accomplish specific goals, and contribute to your community. If you like music, sign up for orchestra or concert band. If you enjoy social studies, take psychology, economics, and mythology. If you want to pursue engineering, take as many science and math electives as you can. Whatever your school offers, take advantage and build a resume that shows you pursued one or more interests in depth.

Regular vs. Honors & AP/IB

But, that’s not all. You should not only take the five core courses and electives every year of high school; you should also take the most challenging available levels of these courses. Take as many Honors, AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses as you can. In freshman year, stack up on honors level courses. In sophomore year, take one or two AP courses if eligible. When you enter 11th grade, take as many AP’s as you can: take 3, 4, or even 5 AP courses. And finally, in senior year, try to take AP classes for every subject except for those you can’t (certain electives, gym, etc.). Colleges want to know if you possess academic ambition and if you can handle college-level work. 

Warning: Do NOT coast in your senior year. Colleges will see what classes you took in your senior year. Furthermore, for regular decision applications, colleges will see your first semester or trimester grades. So, in 12th grade, take the hardest courses you can and do well in them.

What if your school doesn’t offer that many honors or AP courses? That’s perfectly fine so long as you maximize what your school offers. If your school offers a total of 10 AP’s but you take only two, colleges will notice. If your school offers only four honors and four AP classes, take all of them. If your school offers 25 AP courses, take as many as you can fit into your schedule. Colleges will not judge you unfairly if you have fewer opportunities than students from other schools. They want to see if you made the most of what your school offered. 

Having said that, if your school offers relatively fewer opportunities for advanced courses, think outside the box and find ways to take more challenging courses. For example, take college-level courses online or at your local community college and then study for the corresponding AP exams. You can take an introduction to psychology course online and then take the AP Psychology exam at the end of the school year. If you show colleges that you went out of your way to take extra courses that your school doesn’t even offer, and on top of that, if you score a 4 or a 5 on the AP exams, that will certainly improve your chances of admission.

Perhaps you worry that if you take all these challenging courses your GPA will suffer. It might, but in most cases, it’s still better to take a challenging course and do less well than to take a bunch of easy courses and get good grades. In other words, it’s better to get a B in an AP class than an A in a regular class. And of course, it’s better to get an A in an honors class than a B in a regular class. 

Treat your curriculum as a four-year intellectual climb. Start strong, build momentum with advanced courses, and finish your senior year by taking on your biggest challenges yet. That is the surest path to making your application shine.

Bottomline: Take the most challenging courses your school offers and do well in them.