As the first semester of the school year comes to an end students across campus are hurriedly studying for their last tests and quizzes right before their final exams. In between cramming we dream of winter break where we can relax and recharge our batteries before the new semester.
Winter break is an apt time to wind down, however, it’s also an opportunity to ponder about how we’ll tackle the next year. For underclassmen this includes considering schedules for the next school year. Meticulously picking out what APs, honors and extracurricular activities we’ll impose upon ourselves.
Here’s a brief guide of things to consider during this process.
- Taking a summer class
In case you weren’t aware, Oak Park High School has recently changed its policies on summer school. Students can take up to 10 credits per school year with a maximum of 40 cumulative credits. More simply put you can take a class every summer of high school with a limit of two semesters of credit.
For example, a rising freshman might choose to take 5 credits of health and 5 credits of geography, satisfying the graduation requirement for both classes. Alternatively a rising sophomore would choose to take 10 credits of world history.
Taking classes over the summer may seem grueling in the moment, but your hard work will be greatly rewarded when you can take an extra elective, free period or study hall.
An important thing to note is that, even though colleges will receive your grades for summer school courses, the course grades will not be included in your OPHS GPA. The exception is if you are taking a class for remediation.
Additionally, unless specified by OPHS, taking a class at Moorpark College or any community college will not go on your transcript. However, this shouldn’t discourage you from taking a community college class. Concurrently taking a community college course while in high school is known as dual enrollment.
2. Dual Enrollment
Sometimes you just don’t have room in your schedule, or maybe OPHS doesn’t offer that one AP class that sounds really interesting to you. Maybe you’re even looking to challenge yourself.
Moorpark, Ventura and Oxnard Community Colleges have a catalog of hundreds of classes available, many of which are completely asynchronous making them convenient for the average high school student.
AP classes require completing a challenging year-long course and meticulously preparing for an exam that ultimately determines whether you can earn college credit, which some colleges may reject without a second thought. A community college course, while demanding, may alleviate the pressure that comes with passing the AP test.
If you do end up taking a community college class, choose your professors carefully and make sure you complete all steps before registration so you don’t wake up at six in the morning to register only to realize you didn’t actually clear that prerequisite. No, I’m not speaking from experience, what gave you that idea?
3. Spend a good chunk of time weighing what APs and honors to take
If you sign up for those five APs and honors classes in February there is a pretty big chance you will not be happy with yourself in December.
Deliberate heavily on what current and past students have said about the class. How much work do you think needs to be put in? How much work can you realistically put in? Do you believe you can achieve a grade you will be satisfied with?
These are all great questions to ask yourself when it comes to grades but don’t forget to take a step back and consider your personal health; semi-regular all nighters are not normal, skipping meals to work is not normal and having no free time is not normal.
If you’ve had a difficult semester, take these two weeks off and enjoy your break; also, take some time to reflect on how this semester felt for you. It could be a great reference point for building your schedule for next year.
