Senior Year High School Schedule

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Ryder70

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My son is trying to plan out his classes for his senior year in High School and we are debating what his class load should look like. He will only be required to take Calculus and AP Physics to graduate with Academic Honors for his senior year. Would it look better if he took College Classes that are offered online through his school or try to take elective classes that are somewhat geared to what he would like to Major in? The College Classes at his school count as a weighted grade.

Thanks
 
College classes, all day.

SAs and other top schools want to see you took the most challenging courses available and that you did well in them.
 
Thank you for the advice, I think that is the way he is leaning. Our College Credit Program is pretty good here so he could easily fill up his schedule.
 
He is a Junior. He is taking 2 College Classes and 3 AP classes this year and that satisfies most of his requirements to try to graduate with Academic Honors but i just want to make sure he doesn't take too easy of a class load his Senior year because of that.
 
Taking dual credit classes and doing very well in them shows admissions that your DS can succeed at college level courses. Our son didn't have access to AP or IB classes and instead took 27 dual credits via the local community college who partners with our high school. It was mentioned to him in one interview that he had earned 'A's' in those courses, so he took that to mean it was a good thing. He is a 2024 USNA youngster now.
 
I think he will probably end up taking the College Classes that our offered, unfortunately they will have to be taken online so we are guessing they will let him have study halls during the day so he can work on those classes. We were told that the Service Academies more than likely wont recognize those credits, did your son get to use any of his credits towards his Academy Degree?
 
Ryder70 said:
He is a Junior. He is taking 2 College Classes and 3 AP classes this year and that satisfies most of his requirements to try to graduate with Academic Honors but i just want to make sure he doesn't take too easy of a class load his Senior year because of that.
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Makes sense to me.
 
You can validate classes (test out, etc.), i.e. move on from a lower level class to a higher one. You may also have more "free time" if you do this depending on the subject, major, SA and schedule.

Generally speaking, you will get no "credit" from any class you took prior to starting at any SA.
 
Ryder70 said:
I think he will probably end up taking the College Classes that our offered, unfortunately they will have to be taken online so we are guessing they will let him have study halls during the day so he can work on those classes. We were told that the Service Academies more than likely wont recognize those credits, did your son get to use any of his credits towards his Academy Degree?
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Technically, no. No credits “transfer”. However he believes that taking them and doing well helped his nomination and admissions chances. He also was able to test and validate some courses based on proficiency. Those tests are administered during plebe summer.[/QUOTE]
 
Slightly different perspective here. I agree that it makes complete sense to fill much of your schedule with the college level classes and the most challenging ones available at that. But with two full years of school left I think there has to be space to do things that feed the soul as well. So if there is an elective that he is really keen to do to not just assume that it should be filled with another class that an academy might like. So a coding course if that's his thing, or music or a language. I believe that many schools including academies want to see a well rounded student. Not so say he is not already that, just that his academic achievement to date has earned him the space to explore other avenues as well.
 
bopper said:
Also they are always good for Plan B schools!
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Definitely! My DD transfered 22 credits to her school (she took core things like English Comp, Chem 1, etc) , freeing up her schedule so she can minor in something she loves.
 
We are planning on touring The Citadel and VMI this Spring if they are allowing Tours next year. If he gets into West Point SEL next summer we are also planning on hitting Norwich on the way home. That's what we are reminding him that they should at least transfer credits to his plan B schools if he doesn't make it into an Academy. Thanks for the Info.
 
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