Enter your courses exactly as they appear on your transcript
The Common App course section asks you to list the classes you have taken in high school, along with the grades you earned. You enter each course separately, and the form asks for the course name, the grade you received, and the level of the course (standard, honors, AP, IB, or other). The grades you enter here should match what appears on your official transcript — not what you think you earned or what you hope to earn.
Start by gathering your transcript or a list of all courses you have completed through the end of your junior year. Most schools require you to report courses through the end of junior year; some allow you to add senior year courses once grades are posted. Check your school's important date to see whether senior courses are due at submission or can be added later.
Key Takeaways
- Enter each course name exactly as it appears on your transcript, including any course numbers or level designations your school uses.
- Select the correct course level from the Common App dropdown — AP, IB, honors, standard, or other — to match what your school calls it.
- Enter the grade you actually received in letter form (A, B+, C, etc.) or numerical form, depending on what your school uses.
- If your school uses a non-standard grading scale, select "Other" and enter the scale so colleges understand how your grades convert.
- Review your entries against your transcript before submitting to catch spelling errors or mismatched course levels.
How to enter the course name correctly
Type the course name exactly as it appears on your transcript. If your transcript says "AP Biology" or "AP Bio", use that exact wording. If it says "Biology Honors" or "Honors Biology", match that. Do not shorten, expand, or rephrase the name — colleges will compare what you enter to what your school reports, and mismatches can raise questions.
If your school includes a course number (such as "English 101" or "BIO-201"), include it. If your transcript lists the course with a department prefix, include that too. The goal is to make your entry match your official record exactly, so there is no confusion about which class you took.
Some schools use very long course names. Type the full name if it fits in the field. If the field has a character limit and you cannot fit the whole name, use the official abbreviation your school uses on the transcript.
Select the course level that matches your school's designation
Common App provides a dropdown menu for course level: AP, IB, Honors, Standard, and Other. Choose the level your school assigned to the course. If your transcript says "AP Biology", select AP. If it says "Biology Honors" or "Honors Biology", select Honors. If it is a regular Biology class with no special designation, select Standard.
Do not upgrade a course level to make it sound harder. If you took a standard Biology class, do not mark it as Honors just because you earned an A. Colleges verify course levels against transcripts, and misreporting can hurt your credibility. If your school offers a course at multiple levels and you took the standard version, that is what you report.
If your school uses a designation that does not fit these categories — such as "Advanced Placement Seminar", "Dual Enrollment", or a school-specific name — select Other and type the exact designation in the text field that appears.
Enter your grade in the format your school uses
Common App accepts grades in letter form (A, A−, B+, B, B−, C+, C, C−, D, F) or numerical form (90, 85, 75, etc.), depending on your school's grading system. Enter the grade you received in the same format your transcript uses. If your transcript shows letter grades, enter a letter grade. If it shows numerical scores, enter the number.
Some schools use a weighted GPA or convert grades to a 4.0 scale on the transcript itself. Enter the grade as it appears on your official transcript, not a converted version. If your transcript shows both a letter grade and a numerical score, use the letter grade unless your school's official record lists only the number.
If you are still waiting for a grade (for example, a senior year course that has not been graded yet), leave the grade field blank and come back to it once the grade is posted. Do not estimate or enter a grade you hope to receive.
Handle non-standard grading scales
If your school uses a grading scale that is not the standard 4.0 scale — for example, a 5.0 scale, a percentage scale, or a pass/fail system — select Other under the grade field and explain your school's scale. Type something like "School uses 5.0 scale: A = 5, B = 4, C = 3, D = 2, F = 0" or "School reports grades as percentages: 90–100 = A, 80–89 = B, etc."
This helps admissions officers understand how to interpret your grades in context. Colleges are used to seeing different scales and will not penalize you for using your school's official system. What matters is that they can see what your grades actually were.
Review your entries before you submit
Before you submit your Common App, print or screenshot your transcript and compare it line by line to what you entered in the course section. Check that course names match exactly, that course levels are correct, and that grades are accurate. Spelling errors in course names or wrong course levels can confuse admissions officers and may prompt them to contact your school to verify.
Pay special attention to courses you took at a different school (such as a summer program, community college, or online school). Make sure you have entered them under the correct school name in the Common App so the college knows where you took them. If you took a course at your high school and also at a community college, enter both — do not skip one to avoid looking like you repeated the course.
If you notice an error after you have submitted to a college, contact the admissions office and ask whether you can send a correction. Many colleges will accept an email with the corrected information, especially if you catch it quickly.
What to do if your transcript shows incomplete or missing grades
If your transcript shows a course you took but no grade yet (marked as "In Progress" or "Pending"), enter the course name and level but leave the grade field blank. You can update it once the grade is posted. Some colleges allow you to send an updated transcript later in the process.
If your transcript shows a course you took but you withdrew from it (marked as W, WP, or WF), enter it with the withdrawal mark as the grade. Do not skip it. Colleges see your full transcript anyway, and omitting a course you took looks like you are hiding something. A withdrawal is normal and will not hurt you if you explain it in the additional information section if needed.
If your school uses a different grading system for certain courses — such as pass/fail for some electives — enter the grade as your school reports it. If it shows "Pass" or "P", enter that. If it shows a letter grade even though the course was pass/fail, use the letter grade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I include courses I took in middle school or summer programs?
No. Common App asks for high school courses only. If you took a high school course through a summer program or online school while in high school, include it. If you took middle school courses or college courses after you graduated high school, do not list them in this section. Some colleges have a separate section for college courses taken during high school.
What if I took the same course twice, like retaking a class?
Enter both instances. List the first attempt with the grade you earned, and list the second attempt with the new grade. Colleges will see both on your transcript anyway. If you took the course for a different reason the second time (such as honors level instead of standard), make sure the course level is correct for each entry.
Do I need to enter every single course, including PE and lunch?
Enter all courses that appear on your official transcript. If your school lists PE, lunch, study hall, or other courses on the transcript, include them. If your school does not list them on the transcript, you do not need to enter them. The rule is straightforward: if it is on your transcript, it goes in Common App.
Can I round my grade up if it is close to the next letter grade?
No. Enter the grade your school assigned, not a rounded version. If your transcript shows a B+ and you earned 89 points (which is one point below an A−), enter the B+ that appears on your official record. Admissions officers will verify grades against your transcript, and any mismatch will be noticed.
What if my school does not use letter grades or numbers?
Select Other and describe your school's grading system in the text field. For example, if your school uses "Exceeds Expectations," "Meets Expectations," and "Below Expectations," type that scale. Colleges understand that different schools use different systems and will interpret your grades in that context.