Plan Your High School Curriculum

You can’t wait to decide the classes you’ll take your senior year until your senior year. Since many colleges have stringent curriculum requirements for high school students, you need to plan ahead in order to stay in the game. For instance, many colleges require three years of a foreign language. If you do not begin this track in either your freshman or sophomore year, you’ll be unable to attend that college! College administrators like to see a diverse, well-rounded student with many interests and your class schedule should reflect this.

It is also advisable to take the hardest course load you can handle. College administrators also like to see that you are up for the challenging course load you will be expected to complete during college. Taking honors classes shows that you are, indeed, up for this challenge. Plus, you have the advantage of being thoroughly prepared for college level courses after taking a rigorous high school curriculum.

You can expect to have to take courses like the following:
English: Consists of courses like Composition, Creative Writing, American Literature and English Literature. You will need four years of English courses.

History: Consists of courses like U.S. History, World History, and Geography. You will need two years of History courses.

Government and Economics: Consists of courses like U.S. Government, Civics and Economics. You will need one to two years of Government courses.

Math: Consists of courses like Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry and Calculus. You will need three to four years of Math courses.

Science: Consists of courses like Biology, Chemistry and Physics. You will need two to three years of Science courses.

Foreign Language: Consists of courses like Spanish, French and German. You will need two to three years of Language courses.

Electives: Consists of courses such as Art, Psychology and Music. You will need one to three years of Electives courses.