High School Electives

[gills1313]

I'm currently a freshman in HS and am interested in going to a service academy. I have already submitted my list of requests for my elective courses next year, but I have 3 periods worth of electives to take so I will very likely not get my top choices. My list that I already submitted is -in order- Computer Science (1/2 year), Advanced Computer Science (1/2) year, America 1945-Present (1/2 year), Public Speaking (1/2 year), Criminal Justice (full year), Business Management (1/2 year), and Psychology (1/2 year). The chances of all of these fitting into my schedule is extremely slim, so I would like to have some other backups that may fit into my schedule when it is made. Some of the other electives that are offered that I wouldn't mind taking are Video Tech, Forensics, Environmental Issues, Astronomy, Bio Medical Tech, Sociology, American Sign Language, Food Prep and Nutrition, Creative Writing, and Journalism. When I get my schedule for next year over the summer I will probably be able to change some things or request to take other electives if the ones I wanted aren't available or don't fit into my schedule, so I wanted to hear from other people on which of these may be most helpful in a future career in the military, or just most helpful for the future in general.

 

[shiner]

Comp Sci and Public Speaking will be lifetime skills and something you will appreciate having taken. The others are good, but nothing that will have as far reaching of an impact on your future than those two in my opinion. If I had to prioritize the others, I see great benefit in the forensics class to improve your overall problem solving skills.

 

[bookreader]

Absolutely take Public Speaking. You will never regret learning this skill. My son did a tremendous amount of public speaking as a teen and that skill served him very, very well at WP. It was esp handy in classes where he wasn't very academically strong and he was able to give an oral report (this always boosted his grade). This happened many times. Now he is an officer and he has to give presentations to those above him in his chain of command. They always note (with surprise) how good his presentation was.

 

[prospective2019]

Besides CompSci and maybe public speaking, the Academy will not really care what electives you take. You may be able to validate psychology if you take the course in HS, but quite frankly I doubt they'll let you.

Take the electives that are fun for you. You won't get a chance to take a Food Prep class here, ever. I took pottery, forensics, and astronomy in high school for my own enjoyment. CompSci will help you validate a Plebe IT course and public speaking is a good life skill. But please have some fun with classes in high school. West Point will much more heavily scrutinize your math, science, and English grades than your electives. I very much regret dropping those "fun" classes in high school for more APs because I thought colleges would favor me more.

I wish I would've taken a food prep class--you'll have to teach me how to rearrange the dull Mess Hall food to make it gourmet when you get here.

 

[FrauTeufelshund]

The biggest life skill from high school that I use every single day 30 plus years later is TYPING! Sounds lame but man will that make your life a lot easier in college and afterword. (See if there is software so you can teach yourself b/c I am pretty sure it is not offered in school anymore).

DS is going to a public engineering university on an Army ROTC scholarship. He took Public Speaking this year as a senior through "early college" classes at his high school who have a partnership with the local community college, and all of those credits (I think 33 total from calculus, economics, public speaking, modern literature, german and a few others) will transfer to the university from the community college/hs program! USMA was the dream but having sophomore standing before even stepping on the campus of the U is a total bonus and will make an engineering degree, ROTC and the honors program a lot less stressful. Talk to your counselor and try to plan your electives past next year (the classes that transfer here are only offered to juniors/seniors).

Being able to work with your hands is also a valuable skill to have later in life. I wish I would have taken a semester or two of auto shop!
My kid took wood shop and metal shop as electives his freshman and sophomore year. He was able to build on those skills in real life with summer construction jobs. He is only 18 but way better at installing/fixing/maintaining things than I ever will be.

Or just follow your gut and not worry about how they will transfer or what looks better at a SA, etc. Do what interests you!

 

[Army Vet & WPFF]

Agree with the thread here. Have fun if or when you can with fillers, but priority should be to fill in gaps with college prep courses related to the 4 Cores in your wheelhouse (English Lit, Math, Science, & History/Soc Sciences). I attribute 90% of my success in life to 2 things started early in life - being a good typist (computers, IT, spreadsheets) and knowing a 2nd language very well. Semi-retired now, but have lived in 5 countries, and have worked and/or traveled in over 60 countries. Made more money than I thought that I could imagine. Not trying to show off - just trying to make a point. Good luck!

 

[cbasalt1]

Im guessing that your school does not have JROTC, but mine does as an elective course as well as a year long drill class.

Probably the best elective you could take for anything, but especially for a service academy because you get leadership opportunities, get used to a military atmosphere, and learn drill, courtesies etc. All around just a great class for aspiring officers.