Choosing the Right Courses

Advice For Students Entering Grades 10-12

Course selection time is here and eight serious decisions are ahead of you. Your course selections will become your High School Transcript and your résumé for University, College and Workplace applications, so put some thought into it. Make sure that you are choosing courses of value to you in terms of the pathway you are choosing. Here is some advice for everyone currently in High School.

Pick Right the First Time:

Take your course selections serious and don’t just think that you are guaranteed to be able to change them later. This attitude often results in angry students leaving the Guidance Office when they cannot change their courses in September. The schedule is created based on what the students take – so try to make the most informed choices possible.

Going into Grade 10:

Academic or Applied: This is a big decision for students. Just because you were in one level in Grade 9 does not mean that is where you should be for Grade 10. If your marks were below 70% in Grade 9 Academic Math it may be a better idea for you to continue in Applied. But this does not mean that you have to take every course at the Applied level; you could still take your strengths at the Academic level. Also this is the beginning of assessing where you might be headed down the road because what you take dictates what you will be allowed to take in Grade 11, when Academic and Applied are gone and the levels become University, College or Workplace.

Electives: You only have three electives this year, so each choice has a lot of importance on what you will be able to take in Grade 11 and 12. So the first key is PREREQUISITES. Prerequisites are courses that you have to have taken before taking the next level. SO before choosing your Grade 10 electives try to get an idea of what you might want to take in Grades 11 and 12. For example, if you want to take Grade 11 Spanish you have to take Grade 10 Spanish first. #SeñorJohns If you really want more electives Summer School is another option to get a mandatory course out of the way, such as Careers & Civics - which is a full credit online course offered by our school board.

Here is a helpful planner if you want to sit down with a pencil and think it out.

Going into Grade 11:

Now you only have to take English and Math! Many think you have to take science as well, but actually you have to complete Group 3 of the Ontario Graduation requirements – which means a Grade 11 or 12 Science or Tech or Co-Op or French. Do some research! And basically you have 6 electives this year. But first assess your strengths and decide if your required courses are going to be at the University, College or Workplace level. There are also M courses that are a step between University and College courses. Talk to your current teachers if you are unsure.

University level Students:

Start looking at University entrance requirements. Some programs require you to take courses you may not want to, but only you can decide if it is worth it or not. This year is very important for prerequisites for Grade 12 courses. Do your RESEARCH. Don’t trust someone else to tell you what they did or that their cousin’s uncle’s girlfriend’s daughter is in that program and did this.

College and Workplace level Students:

Your goal here should not be to be in easier classes, but the classes that best fit you. A schedule of all Phys-Ed may be fun, but not practical for someone that wants to be a computer technician. Keep in mind you are now eligible for programs like Co-Op and OYAP. Also you are no longer limited to Grade level, if there is a Grade 10 elective that you wanted to take and never did, take it. Same goes for Grade 12 courses.

OK, last chance, if you are going to college and taking University level courses they are not goe as well, but actually you have to complete Group 3 of the Ontario Graduation requirements – which means a Grade 11 or 12 Science or Tech or Co-Op or French. Do some research! And basically you have 6 electives this year. But first assess your strengths and decide if your required courses are going to be at the University, College or Workplace level. There are also M courses that are a step between University and College courses. Talk to your current teachers if you are unsure.

University level Students:

Start looking at University entrance requirements. Some programs require you to take courses you may not want to, but only you can decide if it is worth it or not. This year is very important for prerequisites for Grade 12 courses. Do your RESEARCH. Don’t trust someone else to tell you what they did or that their cousin’s uncle’s girlfriend’s daughter is in that program and did this.

College and Workplace level Students:

Your goal here should not be to be in easier classes, but the classes that best fit you. A schedule of all Phys-Ed may be fun, but not practical for someone that wants to be a computer technician. Keep in mind you are now eligible for programs like Co-Op and OYAP. Also you are no longer limited to Grade level, if there is a Grade 10 elective that you wanted to take and never did, take it. Same goes for Grade 12 courses. ing to give you any kind of reward for taking the wrong courses. So make sure that you are in the courses that lead to where you want to be next year (not necessarily for the rest of your life, just next year). The only class you have left to take is English, so choose wisely….

University level Students:

The average of your six best courses count for University admission in Ontario. You are competing against all of Ontario for a spot in that program and many students have more than the minimum 6 courses. And the last time I checked there were no University Programs looking for someone who did the best in "Spare", so think twice before taking a spare or two. And this is the last time that your education is FREE, so prepare yourself with as much free knowledge as possible before you move on. Listen to some advice from a former student:

The jump from high school to post secondary is difficult to prepare for and the adjustments in work ethic and study habits that need to be made can be a huge shock to most first year students, including myself. Looking back now I would not have taken 2 spares in gr 12 because going from 3 classes to 5 classes each semester with double the amount of course work per class can be overwhelming. I feel I could have better prepared myself if I had taken 4 courses each semester in gr 12. I also recommend fast tracking classes and taking an online class in the summer in gr 11 to give yourself more than enough courses for universities to look at come graduation. The more classes the better chance at obtaining a higher average which allows a chance at more money for a scholarship (this comes in handy for those hoping to go away).

~Shantal Charette, 2013 Sandwich Graduate

Consider online courses or summer school (check Guidance office beginning of end of April) to boost your best 6. Check the admission requirements again for your programs. If the program says "recommended" then it is just that: recommended, but keep in mind you are building knowledge for next year and not just marks. If this is the pathway you are choosing then embrace it!

College and Workplace level Students:

Look at College Admission requirements for YOUR program. There is a lot more differentiation between programs for college. Also you have to make sure that you have all of the graduation requirements. This is your last chance to build your résumé, so make sure that your selections define what you want to do next year. You will do the best in classes that YOU are interested in, not the classes that your friends are interested in.

And in the end….

If you change your mind you change your mind. Don’t sit in a class for future physicists when you are a future accountant. Go to Guidance and make the necessary changes; it’s their job to help you. Just go as soon as you realize that you need to change and not the day before the exam.

***Remember: There is never an end to education. Just because you choose one level doesn’t mean you are stuck at that level for the rest of your life. It is all about making the right decision for that time in your life. Good Luck and why not get started on Career Cruising now!