Honors in High School

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momohaji

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Hello everyone I am just wondering does being in Honors classes increase my chances of join the academy if AP is not accessible (in my high school freshmen and sophomores only get 1 AP class until junior year.)
 
admissions will look at your school profile and wants to see that you are taking the most challenging courses available. if honors classes are available but AP is not, then you won't be penalized for not taking AP
 
The general advice you'll see here plenty is "get the best grades you can in the most challenging classes offered at your school." So yes, in a situation where AP classes are limited, I suspect the Honors classes will be helpful.
 
USNA_STEM_Prof said:
The general advice you'll see here plenty is "get the best grades you can in the most challenging classes offered at your school." So yes, in a situation where AP classes are limited, I suspect the Honors classes will be helpful.
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I am only taking 1 honors class and I don't think i can switch into any other ones
 
This advice about taking the hardest classes your school has to offer — and excelling in them — is what we heard from a very well-connected SA alum and “admissions insider.” SAs want to know that you can handle a difficult course load — while juggling athletics and leadership — because that’s exactly what will be expected of you once you’re there.
 
As others have mentioned, admissions can actually see what courses your high school offers. You should take the hardest classes that are available to you that you can succeed in. Take those AP's junior year if you can and hammer out any prerequisites now (a lot of students don't take AP classes until they're juniors anyway and you will list your current courses when you apply fall senior year).

When I was in high school, I took some courses over the summer at a community college. It wasn't exactly a blast - I woke up early to get it out of the way and it was summer break, but this was time I would've been sleeping anyway. It helped me get ahead in math, but taking a college level course was also invaluable in teaching me how to study (all of a sudden your teacher doesn't know your name and doesn't hold your hand along the way). If you can learn to manage a summer class, sports, a job, and time with friends/being a kid, you will have an upper-hand at the academy, but more importantly, your time management will benefit you anywhere you go and for the rest of your life.
 
bshark_1123 said:
As others have mentioned, admissions can actually see what courses your high school offers. You should take the hardest classes that are available to you that you can succeed in. Take those AP's junior year if you can and hammer out any prerequisites now (a lot of students don't take AP classes until they're juniors anyway and you will list your current courses when you apply fall senior year).

When I was in high school, I took some courses over the summer at a community college. It wasn't exactly a blast - I woke up early to get it out of the way and it was summer break, but this was time I would've been sleeping anyway. It helped me get ahead in math, but taking a college level course was also invaluable in teaching me how to study (all of a sudden your teacher doesn't know your name and doesn't hold your hand along the way). If you can learn to manage a summer class, sports, a job, and time with friends/being a kid, you will have an upper-hand at the academy, but more importantly, your time management will benefit you anywhere you go and for the rest of your life.
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Since i dont have the option to take AP Calc could i take honors pre-calc?
 
You can’t take what your school doesn’t offer, so YES. SAs will have your school profile, so will know what classes are offered and available to you.
 
Does your high school offer dual enrollment courses partnering with a community college or a specific university? Or do they have specialty program participation like project lead the way for engineering? Like others noted about college courses at a comm college above nicely, these are ways to get enrichment/ higher level courses and/ or college credit tackled that your HS may not offer directly, and have these included into your HS transcript (and if for dual credit, GPA). It's also a way to take courses at those colleges often at a negotiated / cheaper rate. For example community colleges courses are roughly 500.00 per 3 credit course for my area's school, but much cheaper through the dual credit agreement - less than half. UCSD offers very affordable online distance courses that are asynchronous which is nice to watch the lectures when you have time.
 
Herman_Snerd said:
Does your high school offer dual enrollment courses partnering with a community college or a specific university? Or do they have specialty program participation like project lead the way for engineering? Like others noted about college courses at a comm college above nicely, these are ways to get enrichment/ higher level courses and/ or college credit tackled that your HS may not offer directly, and have these included into your HS transcript (and if for dual credit, GPA). It's also a way to take courses at those colleges often at a negotiated / cheaper rate. For example community colleges courses are roughly 500.00 per 3 credit course for my area's school, but much cheaper through the dual credit agreement - less than half. UCSD offers very affordable online distance courses that are asynchronous which is nice to watch the lectures when you have time.
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Yes, for 10th grade there is a class called inver hills english and its community college english from 10th-12th
 
I'm impressed that the OP is asking questions this early. An inquiring mind is a good thing.

OP, don't worry about what you cannot control. DS attended a small rural school. The newest lab equipment was easily over a decade old. No AP courses, no IB courses, and no honors for freshmen. He did take the hardest courses available to him and enrolled in honor and dual credit courses through the partnership our high school had with the local community college. As @Herman_Snerd said, they typically are much less expensive and occur during the course of a normal day-- in other words, you take the course at your high school.

Your guidance counselor will be asked to provide a profile of your high school. SAs recognize that not all high schools are created equal and they have experience sizing up candidates accordingly.

DS racked up quite a few credits that way. In the end, they didn't transfer as SAs don't accept 'transfer credits'. But, he managed a tough schedule, learned how different college courses are from high school courses, met the teacher's timelines and expectations, and then was able to test out of a couple of courses once he got to USNA. That did allow for some other courses he wanted to take.

Once it was time to apply to SAs, he obtained an official transcript from both his high school and his college and submitted both.
 
Heatherg21 said:
I'm impressed that the OP is asking questions this early. An inquiring mind is a good thing.

OP, don't worry about what you cannot control. DS attended a small rural school. The newest lab equipment was easily over a decade old. No AP courses, no IB courses, and no honors for freshmen. He did take the hardest courses available to him and enrolled in honor and dual credit courses through the partnership our high school had with the local community college. As @Herman_Snerd said, they typically are much less expensive and occur during the course of a normal day-- in other words, you take the course at your high school.

Your guidance counselor will be asked to provide a profile of your high school. SAs recognize that not all high schools are created equal and they have experience sizing up candidates accordingly.

DS racked up quite a few credits that way. In the end, they didn't transfer as SAs don't accept 'transfer credits'. But, he managed a tough schedule, learned how different college courses are from high school courses, met the teacher's timelines and expectations, and then was able to test out of a couple of courses once he got to USNA. That did allow for some other courses he wanted to take.

Once it was time to apply to SAs, he obtained an official transcript from both his high school and his college and submitted both.
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thanks so much for the anecdote
 
Not to hijack a thread, but my school offers neither AP nor Honors classes. I am currently a sophomore and my plan is to enroll at the local community college for some exposure to higher level math classes. Do you guys think that this is a sound plan?
 
PG#7 said:
Not to hijack a thread, but my school offers neither AP nor Honors classes. I am currently a sophomore and my plan is to enroll at the local community college for some exposure to higher level math classes. Do you guys think that this is a sound plan?
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I do. Even if the goal is other than service academies.

Do your best, at your highest capabilities.
 
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