As a parent, I worried about this too for my son James. I've heard, direct from a counselor, that your electives should be taken as a golden opportunity for students to express themselves--their interests, their passions, etc. So, if you're into physical fitness, take that "Sports Medicine" elective. If you're interested in someday doing business in the Far East, take that "Chinese" class. Be your own person!

If you're taking "Bowling", "Weight Training", and "Underwater Basket Weaving" and ALSO looking to apply to a top-tier college, then your colleges will probably wonder how you ever budgeted time to take AP and Honors classes. However, it doesn't hurt to maybe do 1-2 seemingly-useless and easy electives. At the end of the day you need to consider what your elective choices say about you. If you keep taking foreign language electives, then it's going to help when you apply to be a "Spanish" major at some college.

Most fluff classes like PE don't give number grades. They'll give you partipatory credit that doesn't matter. Don't screw up a chance to take a worthwile class, excel in it, and get a great grade to up your GPA.

PE--seriously, easiest classes ever. One day in PE, all we had to do to get credit was play basketball. Best class ever!

Electives show a great deal in your personality, which would help colleges know what kind of person you are. In other case, I like computers/business and being active, so I chose many computer/business classes and drivers ed/weight training/ and rec games.