Preparing for Course Selection

Enrique Paz, Editor-in-Chief

January 24, 2019

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Getting Ready for Course Selection and College Readiness

With Course Selection coming up at the end of January, many students have been planning ahead and deciding what classes to take next school year. Juniors have also had college lingering at the back of their minds as college becomes a priority.

For any insight on classes, students can check out the course selection catalog with descriptions of each class offered in the district. However, students must make sure to take care of required prerequisites and paperwork before they can advance in certain classes or organizations.

“Ninth graders are being presented to on Jan. 18 and meeting with counselors on Jan. 22-24. Tenth graders are seeing the presentation on Jan. 25 and meeting with counselors on Jan. 28-30 and Eleventh graders will see the presentation on Feb. 1 and meet with their counselor on Feb. 4-8,” lead counselor Delia Baker said.

Planning Out the Future

Students can prepare by looking over their four-year plan and consulting with teachers and counselors about what their best options are for future years. There are also a variety of resources available for them when making these decisions.

“Students are able to change their endorsement and 4 year plan each year. We actually expect students to change things up each year – we know what you wanted to do at 13 is most likely changed now at 17,” Baker said.

As students are constantly worrying about college and how to pay for it, counselors and organizations have extensive help available. There are websites and posts made by head counselor Delia Baker on Schoology.

“Many scholarships are geared for seniors but there are some out there for any student – it is just a matter of looking. There are a few good scholarship links on our College Scholarship page located here,” Baker said.

If anybody wants to take required courses at a different order, they have the option to do so. For example, students who are a year ahead in math and took Algebra 1 in eighth grade have the opportunity to not take a math class their senior year.

“There are different options for these students moving into their upper-level courses but we always talk to the students about keeping up with their courses and not slacking senior year because colleges still look at those things,” Baker said.

Advanced Placement vs. Dual Credit

In order to earn college credit in high school, the two options would include taking either an Advanced Placement (AP) or Dual Credit class. Moreover, anyone who wants to enroll in Dual Credit must take a test at the end of the year to apply and have to enroll as a student in the Lone Star Community college. Fortunately for students, the class is taken during the school day at Klein Cain.

There is a presentation available for those who would like more information between the two.

“Both are college credit and have similar expectations. With dual credit, the student is enrolled at Lone Star and will start their college transcript. With AP they can possibly earn college credit when they take the AP exam in May and make a certain score, depending on the college,” Baker said.

Beginning the Journey

Before students individually meet with their counselors, the counselors recommend everyone already knows what classes they hope to enroll in. However, just because they signed up for a class does not guarantee that they’ll be enrolled in it. Alternate Courses filled out will be the back-up options.

According to Baker, it’s good to do some research about classes they plan to take.

“Ask around and find out from teachers and other students if they know about the class so you can get an idea of the expectations and what the class might entail,” Baker said. “The description in the course catalog may not give the best picture of what the teacher does in the class.”

Students should also keep in mind that they should choose what class is best for them as an individual.

“Do what you are interested in (not your friends). High School is the time to take the classes that fall in the category you think you might want a career in,” Baker said. “Students will sometimes get in that class and realize it’s not what they thought which is better than going off to college and paying to realize it’s not what they wanted.”