How to Choose Your High School Classes: Course Selection Tips!

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Are you a high school student wondering what courses you should choose? Should you go for the AP® class, the Honors class, or just the Regular class? Whether you plan to apply to competitive universities, or you're just trying to graduate high school, this video will go over tips on selecting your high school courses.
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[@SupertutorTV]

Need extra practice for the ACT? 🧐Get the help you need from professional tutors! Sign up for classes today supertutortv.com/the-best-act-prep-course-ever/ 🤑Click here for free math sheets supertutortv.com/free-resources/ Want to read instead of watch 👀 check out this blog supertutortv.com/videos/how-to-choose-your-high-school-classes:-course-selection-tips/

[@gachaadventurer6144]

As someone who is going to highschool in the coming school year, this is really helpful

[@clashclues370]

Why are college admissions so scary 😟

[@emox6400]

The advent of college rankings did that

[@vitthalkrishna9418]

Yet they are way more fun, holistic and just then Indian collage admissions,.. In India they suck completely!..

[@diegomahoney4266]

I could’ve used this a few years ago… I literally am this kinda student who took 13 AP’s, all honors, but all C’s and B’s, with A’s in all my honors.

[@ehpotatoes]

this incredibly helpful :'). thank you so much.

[@mrjacobnash]

At my school, AP classes get 10 points added to them at the end of the year. So 90 in AP class = 100

[@exposedidv6933]

That's some crazy gpa inflation

[@madilynneopheliajustice5071]

o wow mine is 13 points for AP/Dual Enrollment, 10 points is for honors and 5 points for CP (regular)

[@exposedidv6933]

@madilynneopheliajustice5071 Bro That's CRAZY GPA INFLATION. Sure, a curve exists, but a CURVE doesn't affect the final grade.

[@madilynneopheliajustice5071]

@@exposedidv6933 yea but i kinda like the inflation since it makes me feel smarter 😭 ofc this doesn’t count for the unweighted gpa tho, but it does count for ur ranking and weighted gpa. like my rank may have been 94/405 but my gpa was a 3.0 because of my grades unweighted

[@exposedidv6933]

@madilynneopheliajustice5071 I keep making dumb decisions like not taking a final this year which is why I'm barely in the 50% out of 550 kids 😰

[@sohums.6107]

Should I apply with an intended major?

[@rameshratnappan]

Thank you for providing clarity. My son is a freshman and I’m confused with the number of courses and electives that he can take. Your explanation is helpful!

[@Healthsolution.694]

i love this video

[@user-rr2sy9bu7z]

This is going to be me today. I'm in 8th grade and about to be in high school in a few months next school year and I'm signing up for my classes today. I had to the high school placement test for my high school and got the results back so I can know which classes are best for me to pick.

[@katerynakuzma1533]

I regret not watching this before hs 😭 I’m a junior rn and it is toughhhh with sat ap exam and all the regents

[@mikeknight1778]

Would you recommend running start instead of AP? If so what college classed would you recommend

[@RandomestRando]

Can taking college classes on our own time supplement a lack of AP Classes? Thinking of taking Calc 2 and Micro this summer at a community College.

[@SupertutorTV]

in some cases --

[@nashminor8305]

My school does not offer any AP/IB courses. We only offer CCP (college credit plus courses). However, the colleges we do them from are very low-tier and not very difficult. How do I prove myself with rigor when there barely is any?

[@rpf3001]

Self study for AP exams

[@mrjacobnash]

First name - last name

[@mrjacobnash]

I have APUSH and AP Physics review videos

[@asimpleton9579]

you can take APs without being in a class! hard but not impossible

[@smx23]

You can self study, yeah, but college credit courses are still great. AP classes are supposed to simulate college classes while college credit courses are real college courses. When applying make sure to clarify that your school only offers college credit courses.

[@tanu-bb7yt]

if you’re in 10th grade and have a B in APs and a C in Honors but are aiming for a low acceptance rate school, how could you improve your chances of getting accepted within the next two years of hs?

[@matthewecheverria6503]

earn better grades the next two years, if you show improvement over a period of time colleges will recognize it

[@zKavv]

I took ap psych in freshman year and mainly for 70-80’s with one 50 on a test. our teacher graded on curves and added a bonus 5 points on every test in order to save everyone’s grades. i studied extra hard for the ap exam because i spent most of my class time eating while taking notes (high regret) and i’m waiting for my ap score next year i’m going into ap bio, wh, and CSP, and i don’t know if i will mentally survive the challenge, do you have any tips?

[@casuallee5370]

Well, depending on the college you want to go to, you might want to stick with that or lower it. I don't mean you should know which colleges but think if you want to go to a prestigious school or not. Certain colleges want to see you challenging yourself with rigor. While taking APs are good, getting low scores like 3 or under might not look very good in terms of if you can handle the work. One thing to note is that your sophmore year is a great time to start doing activities if you haven't. One of my biggest regrets was not starting earlier but of course, I had the covid lockdown. Don't kill yourself to do APs because you should think about it through the lense of your junior and senior year. By that time, you are worrying about the SAT or ACT alongside more APs. By then, would you have enough APs to stand with your classmates who might be taking as many or more? During my sophmore year, i could only take 1 AP so the opportunity you have means a lot. APs are a lot of work but try to figure out different study methods and map out an outline of how you want to study for each topic before you enter the classroom. In my opinion, AP Bio is a lot of terms but if you enjoy biology then it came be really fun. World History is also a lot of topics and you need some knowledge of current events to tie into the past. The essays were really important and I think that gave me a 5 when I panicked during the mcqs. I haven't taken CSP so good luck on that 😅

[@zKavv]

@@casuallee5370Okay thanks for the essay, I got my AP score back I got a 4 so that gave me a bit of motivation for bio. My school couldn't place me in comp sci principles so i took AP stat instead. also I got a 27 on my act math but only got a 19 on reading and science. I think ap bio and ap stat might help get the science up but not sure about reading speaking on the topic of extracurriculars idk if ill have time and my school doesnt have much, but I am nowhere on the athletic side so i definitely wont be in any sports. Im trying to teach myself how to skate though

[@casuallee5370]

@@zKavv It is a lot of work but you could always start a club or join one in your school. You already did the ACT in your freshman year??? You definitely have time to boost up that score and you won't be caught off guard compared to other people who study later. Time is always an issue but one you will have to face even after high school. Just have a good support system with your friends and family to get you through and always ask for advice. I don't know how helpful I'm being so don't listen to me if it stresses you out too much. Good luck in your sophmore year! :D

[@omarfish8940]

The advice for an AP class is going to be the same as all other classes: Do your homework Generally, the teacher will assign difficult homework because the teacher wants you to learn everything as soon as possible. Although the homework might be a bit difficult, it's definitely going to save your ass especially in AP Bio which atm is the hardest class I've taken in high school (although I think it'll be dethroned by IB Math HL when I do that next year)

[@airmand7718]

I’ve heard AP bio is a doozy, so make sure to work on your work/study habits, and try your best to keep up.

[@gheller2261]

I would disagree that the average student needs a 3.5 unweighted GPA to get into a reputable 4 year college. I counseled a kid whose unweighted GPA was a 3.2 at best with just 2 honors classes that were P/F because of Covid. Also, a handful of grades in the 70s. Kid got into U of Delaware, U of Iowa, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Albany, Rider, James Madison, DePaul, College of Charleston, U of Tampa. All great schools. So, yes, the advice here is great for students looking at the most selective schools, but for mere mortals, one really does not have to blow the roof off to go to a good college.

[@rpf3001]

David Hogg got into Harvard with a 3.2, what she was trying to say is to have good chances you should be in that range. The kid you counseled was an exception.

[@Tarsal1]

Definitely self study AP tests. If you explain on a college app that your school didn't have much opportunity, but then you go the extra mile to learn beyond what your school offers, thats better than somebody that goes to a private school where everybody takes AP.

[@SupertutorTV]

I'm not saying you need a 3.5, but I am saying if you're slamming yourself with AP classes and NOT at a 3.5 it may be time to cut back and find some balance.

[@gmh471]

@@rpf3001 The kid I counseled was not the exception for kids applying to the schools that I mention. Hogg was the exception because he became famous for his work after the tragedy at his high school; otherwise Harvard would not have sniffed hi,. I am fine with that; schools like Harvard SHOULD look at non-objective factors. My point was more focused on the fact that the top 50 US News colleges are not the only reputable colleges. There are hundreds of others and most do not require kids to have stressed themselves out for 4 years to get in.

[@gmh471]

@@SupertutorTV Point taken. Unfortunately, you probably know the difficulty of convincing some parents that their kids should drop AP classes that they are not excelling in (or, even if excelling, that are causing emotional breakdowns). Because, if little Egbert doesn't get into Cornell, everyone will see them as parental failures. It is why I much prefer counseling "regular" kids from "regular" families.

[@xpired5328]

God I miss studying Cambridge 😮‍💨

[@anishkajan342]

What if you want to retake a course? Will colleges take the score you retake? (I also did not fail the class I retook, lower than B-, but higher than a D+)

[@Richard-sy5xn]

Why did you explain it like that, lol 😭

[@gracie4547]

What about ccp classes? If the college I want to attend doesn’t accept ccp credits, should I still take them to show class rigor?

[@shawnchuang1101]

Depends on the other classes that your school offers, if ccp classes are the most difficult then that’s enough to show rigor, credits don’t matter until you get accepted

[@anthonynguyen8344]

I am currently a sophomore and planning to take spanish over the summer. i currently have 2 years of spanish, and after summer school for spanish, i plan to take a fourth course of spanish in the future through a community college (during high school). will colleges consider this the same as 4 full years of spanish?

[@anthonywilson7041]

Yes, it will actually look better than 4 years because those college ones are definitely harder than a highschool spanish 3 and 4 class.

[@anthonynguyen8344]

@@anthonywilson7041 ok thanks. i’m just worried that colleges won’t see commitment. btw it’s only one college course plus one summer course that my school offers

[@phonicharbor3392]

i think it is helpful for college admissions i am also taking a 4th year of spanish next year too and it's an honors class in my school

[@zyxer3610]

My school never let me choose any of my classes (other than electives). I'm a junior right now and they never put me in chem. I just got my first AP class which happened to be AP ENG LANG which I'm pretty sure is still considered to be one of the easy ones. What do I do?

[@shahanaparveen2413]

samw with me

[@zyxer3610]

@@shahanaparveen2413 a senior now. I’m in AP Bio and Gov and my other classes give me college credit. For some reason, they only let senior choose their classes in my school. What about u? Did u get to pick for senior year?

[@vaishnoabhyankar4157]

hi Brooke..your videos are very helpful. thanks for sharing them. one question i have. my son has been admitted to UMW, uc davis, penn state, MSU and purdue. MSU is giving a 40% scholarship for 4 yrs. which university should we prefer fo ME course as an international student? your adivise will be of great help. thankyou.

[@gmh471]

Unfortunately, you do not provide enough info for any college counselor to feel comfortable giving too much specific advice. But if cost of attendance is an important factor, and it is for most families, then MSU's offer is an important consideration. MSU, Penn State, UW-Madison and Purdue are peer institutions to one another -- similar schools of similar size, all in the Big Ten conference for athletics. All great schools. Wisconsin and Penn State are ranked a bit higher by US News but that doesn't mean much, if anything. These are "like" institutions. UC-Davis will be very expensive for an international student. So will UW-M. Also need to consider what your child wants to study. If any of these schools lack the desired program, perhaps it should not be on your list. As for MSU, you need to know what kind of GPA your child needs to maintain to keep the scholarship. Also, MSU may be offering money, but its cost of attendance (tuition, room and board, books, travel and personal expenses) is around $62,000 for international students. Purdue may not be offering money, but its cost of attendance is considerably lower than that of MSU, somewhere around $45-46,000. So, it is not the amount of the scholarship that is important, it is the overall cost of attendance after applying the scholarship. 40% off of MSU tuition might still result in a cost similar to that of Purdue. If your student likes Purdue -- or any of the other schools -- you can contact the school to see if they can offer something. Look for KZbin videos on financial aid and scholarship appeals.

[@bensexoticreps]

Do Honors classes also work as advanced classes if your highschool does not offer many AP classes for freshman and Sophomores?

[@bingus1691]

Same question, did you find out?

[@emanon7118]

My school doesn’t have AP/IB courses. Can I pass them online or somehow else?

[@user-xh1lr3yo3y]

You can study by yourself and take the test at a school that offers it. My son studied AP Government by himself and wanted to take the test at nearby school. There were many schools within about 10-mile radius that offer the course, which means they offer the test. But none of them would allow my son to take the test with their own students. I called and called, and found one school 30 miles away. (I live in a major urban area, so there are schools everywhere.) It was 2019-20 school year, so he took the test at home, so it didn't matter in the end. But if you do it this year, and the school is 30 miles away, it might not be physically possible for you to take the test.

[@zKavv]

i have a question, i heard a lot of colleges want 3 years of foreign language but i only did 2 years of chinese, before dropping that and a elective to double math and take ap psych what do i do? i don’t want to take chinese 3 but it looks like i don’t have a choice

[@SupertutorTV]

Yeah-- take Chinese 3 OR take another language for 2 years that is different if you have time or take a totally new language at a community college (arabic?)

[@joeb4116]

I go to a school that only offers up to 4 ap classes by the end of junior year given my route, will this work against me or will there be a way for the college admissions process to see that?

[@duna.22]

Colleges WILL take this into account. They always look to see how many AP courses your school offers, so don't worry if only a few APs are offered at your school!!

[@shawnchuang1101]

Your councilor should explain this in a school profile that they send, and you can always explain this yourself in the additional information section. Don’t worry, colleges rank rigor based on the courses available to you

[@sabrinam7866]

what is considered a lot of aps? my school only lets us take 6 classes every year, so i dont have too much space. i should be taking about 9 total (one online, 8 in person, with 5 in my senior year)

[@sabrinam7866]

we are also limited to NO aps during freshman year and 1 (2 MAX but difficult to be allowed to take 2) for sophmore year

[@williammurray7412]

When applying to colleges with a low acceptance rates, is it good to ask for no financial aid for the first year and pay full tuition and apply for financial aid for the remaining years?

[@SupertutorTV]

No. In the case of Merit scholarships most schools use them as a tool to entice strong candidates. These are much more rare among upperclassman vs freshman admits. In the case of highly selective schools that don’t give a merit, they are usually need blind but will potentially be looking at your ZIP Code or high school to get an idea of the kind of diversity context you might represent. So whether or not you file a FAFSA is not going to be considered. On a case by case basis this might be a strategy you could employ, but I would only do so at schools that don’t offer merit and are need aware. Keep in mind at a need aware school they do not necessarily meet 100% of demonstrated need and you might end up having to drop out and not being able to afford the school sophomore year which probably wouldn’t be cool.

[@bradleymiller6989]

I attend a USA top 100 public high school that requires students to take a “qualifier” test to trim the number of AP Class seats available to students. My qualifier test score prevented me from taking AP Spanish in 12th grade. Should I take a seniors-only Spanish Art and Culture class, or switch languages and take Chinese I to fulfill my four years of language? Thanks!

[@havok4738]

tell ur mom to complain to the school to get u in ap. if that doesn't work, continue with spanish

[@bradleymiller6989]

@@havok4738 Thanks for your reply. 27 other French IV students did not qualify for AP French either.

[@mr.obamium8074]

U don’t need four years

[@shawnchuang1101]

I think taking the Spanish class would be better, colleges like to see commitment and you can simply explain that you weren’t allowed to take the AP class

[@plasmabs2792]

Does anyone know which Ap classes that you can take freshman year? Which ones can you take straight away without taking the honors course first?

[@plasmabs2792]

I am asking this to know which classes I COULD frontload into freashman year. (Like I couldn’t frontload AP calculus without doing regular math classes first)

[@nataliesbizarreadventure980]

@@plasmabs2792 as a freshman, i took ap human geo

[@zacharychromey2680]

It really depends- my school typically doesn’t allow freshman to take any AP courses (though there are exceptions). As for which you can take without prerequisites try AP macro/micro economics, AP histories (world, gov, US, euro, art), AP Statistics, or even AP comp sci (if you want to study over the summer). There are probably more but that’s what I could think of. Maybe ask your counselor?

[@thetominator1931]

@@plasmabs2792 If you don't have any APs available at your school as a freshman, you could try to self teach any of the APs on College Board. But be aware of the immense commitment, productivity and dedication it takes to pull it off.

[@francineg2758]

Environmental science 🌱

[@evanhatcher8423]

Dual enrollment classes are the best

[@zthehuman7051]

Ooh my school offers those but I can’t take any yet because I’m a rising sophomore

[@user-xh1lr3yo3y]

Wow! I didn't know grade inflation was this bad.

[@jonathanyork597]

I’m currently a junior in highschool and I can say that this school year has killed me. While I did suffer i realize that it will be worth it. While junior year is still going i’m really stressed about getting into NC State, my top college. I got a 1380 SAT and a 29 ACT 3.8 UW GPA 4.25 W GPA I feel like I want to go into the computer science field, but i’m worried that i’m still not doing enough. I’ve taken APES, AP Psych and AP Chem. Next year i’m taking AP Calc ab and AP Physics 1. Do you guys think this will be enough to be accepted?

[@tahaazeem6231]

Are you in state? My brother goes there out of state, very amazing school!

[@jonathanyork597]

@@tahaazeem6231 yep, i’m in state!

[@user-xh1lr3yo3y]

Studying hard during the school year is given. But the simplest way to make your application stand out is to improve your SAT score. As a science major you might want your SAT math to be 750 or higher. The difference between 730 and 750, or between 750 and 770 is great. The air gets thinner very quickly when you get above 700. Schools take best English or math from all your tests, so forget about English and concentrate on math. If you study hard over the summer and get lucky, 770 might not be out of reach.

[@tahaazeem6231]

@@jonathanyork597 ooh in state you got this for sure

[@jonathanyork597]

@@user-xh1lr3yo3y my friend got into aerospace engineering with 700 math.

[@zKavv]

my gpa went bad because i had to take a health class virtually (our school had a program for us to take it virtual bc it’s required in my state) to sum up that health class, it was led by christian teachers who had their beliefs interfere with the curriculum. for example, and abstinence pledge as a assignment and i did bad in that class, and it dropped my gpa. i got a 60 on a test whilst cheating (google)

[@k1llersw0rd80]

I only did one ap class in my sophomore year and 2 or so ap classes in junior year. I got high grades in those classes and I'm doing all ap classes my senior year. Is it too late for it to matter or will colleges interpret it as academic growth by taking on more ap classes later on? I wanted to do more ap classes before but my parents didnt want me to have a huge course load. My teacher told me it would be better late than never but idk what implications that will have.

[@DugdoesDigging]

i dont get studying, im a straight a student, not once have i studied in a class. ive only ever done all the work in the class, participated in the class discussions, asked questions which i have had, but not once have i studied. i think studying is the worst thing anyone can do. now i want to say this now, this is what i think studying is, opening a book and reading pages upon pages of things over and over again. thats not good, all that does is put it on the forefront of your mind and you forget everything after the session or after the test. what i think people should do is practice the things they have learned. practice would be doing problems, deriving equations and solving things. this will keep your knowledge and help you better understand a subject. why do you think math classes have homework? alot of the time if your teacher is a good one, homework is literally only there so that you can practice the skills you learned in class. now obviously social studies and english are completely different, but its still the same, practice the things you have learned dont read it from a book.

[@user-ji9pt9ox2b]

Why would you take so many AP. Just one covering each broad subject is sufficient to get out of the gen Ed.

[@johnd3330]

Is an A in AB calc or a B in BC calc better?

[@TheHappychickadee]

Wondering the same thing

[@MagiAndBleachIsPeak]

I am about to get my first B in AP Calc BC😥

[@user-xh1lr3yo3y]

Well, you might not feel like it, but I would want to congratulate you. First, it's your first B, and second, Calculus BC moves at the same pace as the regular college course. So, you have done extremely well. Now, you just need to get a 4 or a 5 on the actual test. (You know that AB covers 1/2 year worth of stuff in 1 year.)

[@MagiAndBleachIsPeak]

@@user-xh1lr3yo3y Thank you, I’m hoping for a 4 or 5 however I’m not very good at calc😅 or at least I’m struggling to memorize all the formulas

[@prodbynatee]

Looks like I'll be working at a local McDonald's guys.

[@AngxlicAlex]

I’m going to an early college high school sooo I HAVE to take honors and college courses only

[@wmrcats]

Jesus loves you repent he is coming back he died for you please

[@Beck-Stein]

This is crazy. A 3.5 will not you into any UC school at all.

[@francescamills6342]

second

[@avae2704]

First

[@johnswanson1977]

I hate that you basically need to have no social life just for a chance to get into one of these colleges.

[@brooooooooooke]

"shove everything humanly possible into freshman and sophomore year" OH MY GOODNESS finally someone understands me AHHHH My high school is so strict and everything just HAS to go in a specific order SO I'm really frustrated but hey someone agrees with me! 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲