Hi,
I am wondering what courses I should take next year. I want to take advanced courses, but my school does not offer many. I am planning on taking AP English and APUSH (which is going to be taught for the first time next year). I am also planning on taking a college level Calculus course. These are the only advanced courses that my school offers, but I am able to take dual enrollment classes at the local community college. How many other courses should I take so I don’t overload myself? What classes should I be taking?
Depends on who you want to work as.
Have you taken four years of science or a language? That could be a possibility. What type of colleges are you interested in? Some will take the dual enrollment courses from the local college and count them towards general ed requirements. It takes planning, but you can look up colleges you are interested in and see if they accept transfer credit. In her junior year, my daughter emailed her top two colleges of interest with possible classes including descriptions and class #, and they told her what would transfer. She was able to cover foreign language, science w/lab, communication, and a math class over her senior year. As a freshman in college, she is taking some second year courses including in her major.
This won’t work with all colleges. Most highly competitive schools may not accept any transfer credit. Now is a good time to do the research if you are interested in this route. FYI, in my daughter’s case, the classes were not any more difficult than an AP class.
AP English => English
APUSH => Social science/history
Dual Enrollment Calculus 1&2 => Math (Fall=1, Spring =2)
Foreign Language 1&2 (either 101-102 if you haven’t taken those, or 201-202 if you’ve had 3 years already)
Classes that attract your interest… one or two in the Fall, one or two in the Spring; one of those should be a science class and one would be good as an art class.
You’d have 2 periods in HS each day, and 2 periods at the dual-enrollment college, each day ( 2 on MWF, 2 on TTH.) If you got organized, you could even have free afternoons for a job or an internship.