As the school year ends, the current classes and friends you made along the way are ending; “we made it.” We are finally almost there, but we had one more thing to do before we transition into the next semester. We had to pick our classes for next year.

This year’s choices of classes were fascinating, and the presentations were just as exciting. It is essential for you to pick classes that will be beneficial to your future and not just classes you think are fun. Although it is always important to have fun, it’s also essential to ensure you’re picking classes wisely. You need to be able to know the classes you don’t need, especially if you want to attend a good college. Remember, when picking classes, remember four important elements:

• How it benefits you in life.
• How it follows the A-G requirements.
• How it follows the graduation requirements.
• How does it follow your dream university requirements?

Let’s dive into those four:

To decide whether a class benefits you, there are some factors you need to dive into before choosing a class, like if you truly enjoy the class and if it helps you learn things in life that you will need. You know if you genuinely enjoy the class if you find excitement in going to that class every single day if you are excited to learn in that class. You actually understand and take in everything you learn. To know if it will genuinely help you in life, you think of what you want to do in life, and if it aligns with that specific class you’re taking, then take it and focus on that class. A lot of the time, people take classes because that is what is expected of them, but that is not what you should do; you should take classes because you actually want to take them and show relevance in the two factors that I stated, so the next time you pick a class consider the two sub-factors. 

The next element is if it follows the A-G requirements and if you do not know what the A-G requirements are requirements for a set of high school courses you are required to take to be eligible for admission at a California State University (CSU) or a University Of California (UC). The A-G requirements include 

• A: History and Social Science, including one year of U.S. history and one year of social science
• B: English, including four years of college preparatory English composition and literature
• C: Math, including three years or four years, recommended
• D: Science, including two years of college-preparatory science or three years recommended
• E: Language Other than English, including two years of the same language
• G: College Preparatory Electives, including one year of any college preparatory subject

So, with that being said, if you want to go to a Cal State or a UC, make sure you’re on top of these, and if you need help figuring out what class falls under what, you can always look it up or talk to your counselor.

The third element is whether it follows the graduation requirements. You must know how many credits you need to know if something follows your graduation requirements. At QHHS, you need 230 credits to graduate with your diploma. It may be regulated by different states and countries. Still, you can always check with your counselor or the school website to see if it is regulated. 

And for the final, and not the last factor you should look into when picking your classes, is if you follow your dream university requirements. Different universities have different requirements. For example, Harvard Law School requires a GPA of 3.75 or higher, and some law universities like UC Davis take a 3.0 or higher GPA. It all depends on the school, especially if you want to go to school outside of the state or country, so make sure you look into that.

In conclusion, when considering what classes to pick, ensure they follow the four elements mentioned in the article. Also, make sure they follow your career and university path, and if you have already filled out your classes, which I’m sure most of you have, you can use this for next year!