I am a junior in High School and I go to a small school. Since there isn’t much options with classes, I was thinking about being a TA for my third semester in one of my periods. The TA will go into my transcript as a pass or fail. I have 5 periods. Now, if I did TA, would it hurt my chances at getting into certain universities or scholarships or would it just be a neutral. I’m more concerned about the scholarships.
TA=? If you mean Teaching Assistant I don’t see how it would hurt you unless you’re not taking another valuable course that would be available to you.
Can you be designated as a peer tutor rather than a teaching assistant? Some schools have two different roles. I think that would be viewed more positively, especially if you combine it with other ECs related to tutoring (e.g. volunteering/working in a summer school, tutoring kids in math, etc.).
My D was a peer tutor the whole of her senior year, and it didn’t hurt her at all. She even used it (in combination with other ECs helping underprivileged kids) for one of her essays.
I also read that if I TA, then some colleges or scholarship programs won’t count it as a full time enrollment so that also has me thinking
As mentioned in the last time you asked this:
Pros: It shows leadership. You can help other kids.
Cons: It prevents you from taking another class.
What classes would you take next year?
What would you take if you didn’t be a TA?
Would being a tutor be another thing to consider?
What’s your current schedule? What would it be next semester?
What type of schools are you aiming for?
Is online or dual enrollment a possibility?
This trimester
- Computer science
- Human body systems A
- History
- Honors English
- Art
Next Trimester
- Pre-calculus B
- Spanish B
- Teacher Aide (maybe)
- Chemistry B
- Human body systems B
I am aiming for the University of Washington
Is this a block schedule of some sort? What’s up for next year? (If this is just one trimester and verything else will be spot on, it may be ok.)
But, learn what completed courses your college targets will want. Being a TA is nice, but it’s not like college where one has actual teaching or group learning responsilities. Some hs kids are handing out work, making copies, taking attendance, etc. What would you be doing?
What else could you be taking? In particular, could you be taking history or English?
What’s your plan for next year?
What level is Spanish B (2nd year?)
My English is the B part so I’ll be done with that, I’ll be done with history too. Only thing available are classes that really don’t matter too much. Next year I want to take physics, honors english, calculus, anatomy. I want to get a lot of core classes my senior year. Spanish is first year but I am already fluent so I might be doing some independent study for another language aswell.
You need to “certify” your fluency in Spanish by a Subject test or the AP test (both would result in higher placement in college). Otherwise, you’d need to reach the equivalent of the 3rd year level in another foreign language. Foreign language is considered a core class for college.
You need to have
- 4 years of English, honors if offered, if possible including AP English Lang
- 4 years of History and social science, honors if offered, 1 AP at least if possible
- Foreign language through level 3, 4, or AP
- one each from bio, chem, physics, + one more - if aiming for a STEM major, one of these 3 at AP level
- Math through precalculus or calculus
- some personal picks revealing what academic fields interest you
- some colleges (such as California universities) want to see one year in art or music
Well TA in high school is like a free period. Some people use it as an EC to show leadership skills and etc. However, if you have to take some major class, I would avoid taking TA.
When I was in high school, I had free periods in between my schedule, so I took the TA class. So in my case, I took TA class as I was done with my electives classes and had free periods. Although, my TA class counted as half credits and I was responsible for helping math students, grading assignments, making copies.
Talk with a counselor and see if you need any electives or major classes, if you don’t, then go for TA.
Tip- try to bug your counselor, I was able to take 7 periods and adjust my class schedule to fit all my classes. Also, try to meet the teachers and ask them if they have space in their classes, if they do have space, tell your counselor you wanna get in that class as it has space.