Next Year’s Curriculum – What to Take?
Updated: Jun 15, 2020

Well, spring passed us by and perhaps your student is still scratching his/her head about next year's classes. Curriculum rigor is essential to prove a student will do well in college classes. Let’s consider these questions to ask when setting up next year’s course load.
Consider Your College Program of Study – For example, if the student plans on majoring in Psychology, perhaps AP Statistics makes more sense than Calculus. Of course, a student majoring in engineering is Calculus bound and should take the course in high school to prepare. For a major such as construction management, some schools require first-year students to take Calculus while other schools do not. Do your homework! – review the core curriculum requirements for your program of study. Each school’s academic section within their websites hosts this information.
The Common Data Set – This is an excellent tool for obtaining basic facts such as the high school credits a college or university requires.
For example, let’s consider three Virginia public colleges/universities and the recommended foreign language requirement.
The College of William and Mary – 4 years
University of Virginia – 5 years
Virginia Polytechnic Institute – 3 years
Careful high school curriculum planning is vital to the college application process!