A 4.0 (or greater) GPA may look perfect on paper, but colleges will still look at the classes that you took to achieve that number. If you avoided opportunities to challenge yourself in the name of protecting your GPA, you haven’t demonstrated the same abilities as the student who may have earned fewer A’s, but did so in more difficult classes.
Don’t protect your perfect GPA. Whether it’s taking AP or honors classes, or going beyond the minimum requirements for math, foreign language, or sciences, show colleges that you’re willing to take on a challenge when it makes sense and you can handle it.
But don’t over-reach so much that you lose sleep and sanity. And if you’re working hard but struggling to earn even B’s in those classes, you’re probably over enrolled. Only the most selective colleges in the country expect you to take the most challenging curriculum available to you (and doing that is far from a guaranteed admission to those schools). The key is to strike a balance and push yourself within reason.
But colleges want students who won’t be afraid of the academic opportunities afforded to them. And the best way to show you’re ready for those challenges is to put your perfect GPA in harm’s ways and earn an A for effort.