High School Classes you should take freshman year?
What Types of Courses Should I Take?
In freshman year of high school, you should have very limited freedom in the courses you can take. Generally, you are required to take your 4 core classes - World Geography, Math (Algebra 1, Geometry, or Algebra 2 depending on how many years you skipped), English 1, and Biology). You have 3 electives, which are classes where you can decide what you can take. I recommend taking 1 language elective such as Spanish 1, as 2 language credits are required to graduate. Your other two courses can be whatever you want to pick.
What Are Pre-AP Classes?
Pre-AP classes are classes that are offered in 9th and 10th grade that develop skills in a student for future success with AP classes. If your school offers Pre-AP, these courses will have a higher workload and be more rigorous than regular-level classes. In addition, Pre-AP classes are designed to prepare you to meet AP expectations. Due to the higher difficulty of Pre-AP classes, it is weighted as a +5 course if your school ranks by weighted GPA.
Should I take Pre-AP or On-Level?
If you are planning to take AP courses in college, it is highly recommended that you take Pre-AP classes so that you become used to the workload that an AP class brings. In addition, from personal experience, I can say that AP classes, such as AP Biology, are just extensions of their pre-AP counterparts. Taking pre-AP classes and then taking the corresponding AP class next year is highly recommended. zIn addition, Pre-AP classes are weighted as +5 on the weighted GPA scale, so if your school ranks by weighted GPA, taking Pre-AP classes during freshman and sophomore year will be immensely beneficial to your rank.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, it's your choice on how much work you want. There are always advantages and disadvantages to every decision in life and this would be one of the first big decisions you would have to take in your first year. The best thing is that since it's your freshman year, you are just starting. You can learn a lot from your first year and understand your strengths and weakness. So make your choices wisely and enjoy your life!!
Aditya J is a current student planning to major in medicine. He hopes to provide invaluable information regarding how to be successful in your high school career!