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“How To Choose The Best Courses For You”
Introduction
Choosing the right classes -at least for me- makes up as one of the most stressful parts about the end of the school year. There are so many options. So many classes to choose from. Yet, I have absolutely no clue as to which classes may suit me best, which teachers teach those subjects, the amount of work from each of those classes, the test difficulty in each of those classes, and things like that. It’s challenging. Mentally challenging.
It requires so much mental effort, yet it’s such a simple and straightforward matter; just choose the classes that you think will suit you best next year.
Let’s end that real quick. This post will be a short one, because I don’t want to stress you out any more like how I was. It sucked. You don’t wanna be there too.
Prerequisites
Below, you’ll find a brief list describing the things you need to have checked off before you choose ANY class. If you don’t know these, you’re probably better off letting a counselor of yours choose classes for you (unless they already do that).
- Know what you’re interested and seriously passionate in. Don’t choose classes that won’t suit your interests, and won’t maximize your intellect as a person. If you’re passionate in being an engineer, and want to build the next repulsor thruster, then you probably shouldn’t take classes like AP Biology (for example) or classes that have literally nothing to do with the matter. Don’t waste your time bombarding yourself with work quantities you know you can’t handle.
- Know your mental and emotional limits. Let’s say that you’re placed in a very high level class and you have no idea what it’s about, who’s teaching it, or even what the subject is. You were just randomly given the class and you would just have to find out what it was once you stepped in the class. And oh, look at that! It’s AP Chemistry. Worst part? You know absolutely nothing about chemistry. You suck at math, and are interested in an occupation that has nothing to do with chemistry, biology, or any science really. Turns out that you’re given a bunch of work, and are expected to do it all within crazy time constraints. Ask yourself: can you really handle all that pressure? Getting good grades, keeping up with class expectations, and still managing personal responsibilities? (unless you have no life at all and just sit at home doing homework – which, if that’s true, you might wanna reconsider everything you’re doing in the first place)
Small Tip: Enjoy Life
You are young. You are still in school. This time that you have is so precious, and you only have a few years of it out of your entire lifetime. This time that you were given to enjoy is so precious; so precious because it’s one of the only time segments that you’ll have to yourself. Don’t sacrifice that just because of school. I know, I know, it seems crazy. However, it’s not.
Be real for a moment. Do you really want to spend this time you have just mindlessly working? Do you really want to sell your soul just working, and studying, and working even more for a diploma? Although it seems contradictory to everything you’ve been told throughout your entire life, you need to be realistic.
My point is, this time you have is very limited. You’ll spend the rest of your life working anyways. So, why not enjoy this time you have now and cherish the memories you can make? Just chill and relax for a moment. Take a break. If you’re working hard enough, you’ll have deserved it.
Prerequisites (cont.)
- Graduation Requirements. Of course, there are the graduation requirements. A basic one -at least in the US that is- is 4 years of English. You cannot miss that credit. Point is, you need to make sure that you’re on track to graduating with the necessary requirements. You can pursue classes of passion, but if you let that get in your way of necessary, core classes, you won’t even graduate on time. Do you really want that?
- Balance. This is optional; only because balance in life may be the ultimate limiting factor to your success. Sometimes, things have to be unbalanced. There will be days in which you have no free time. There will be times in which your sleep sucks. That’s life. Growing up is also realizing that life can be harsh, and that it won’t ever hand anything over to you. You have to earn it. In other words, you have to earn that balance with hard work, with smart work.
- If you’re looking for balance in your schedule, choose classes that will challenge you but won’t push you past your limits.
- If you’re not looking for balance, choose classes that will challenge you beyond comfort; classes so harsh that you’ll wish you graduated right now, and not in a few years.
- College. Are you looking to go to college? Are you interested in classes that will appeal to colleges and make you look like a beast? You can easily do this by taking a look at something on their website that gives you a fair guideline as to what classes to pick.
With those prerequisites out of the way, it’s time to move forward. Let’s continue.
“Balance” Images – Unsplash.com
Choosing Classes
You now should have a criteria alongside you to accompany your choices. So, with that out of the way, it’s time to actually choose your classes.
- Firstly, choose the proper classes for you core four (math, science, history, english) by considering the highest of class difficulty you’ll be willing to go up to. That might be regular, honors, AP, IB, dual-enrollment, or any other options offered by your school.
- Secondly, choose any side electives of interest or necessity. If you need to take a class next year, take it. If you don’t, but still want to take it, negotiate. Is it worth it? Is it not? Take time to ask yourself questions and assess yourself.
- Lastly, decide whether or not you suit any study halls. In my personal opinion, I’d much rather choose an easy class (or finish up any extra credits) and get a credit for it, rather than doing a study hall and get nothing in return for it except time that I can easily get my hands on at home.
Remember, these decisions are solely up to you. Don’t let anyone influence your decisions.
Conclusion
Choosing classes is simple, but not easy. For that reason, this post was made – to hopefully end your struggles in choosing your right classes. If your interested in a post solely dedicated to choosing the right AP classes, you can view our post here.
