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. We help students review the core curriculum requirements at schools of interest.
Fulfilled high school requirements for graduation vs. required and recommended high school curriculum – The Common Data set is an excellent tool for obtaining basic facts such as the high school credits a college or university requires or recommends.
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 – 4+ years
Virginia Polytechnic Institute – 3 years
Careful high school curriculum planning is vital to the college application process!
PS Internships are not academic classes - We do not recommend swapping an internship for a Senior year academic class!
PPS A full academic schedule is a must - no 1/2 schedules, even if that is what you are told is ok to graduate high school.