5 answers
Samuel
Student
Elk River, Minnesota
6
Questions
Asked
677 views
As a current high school student what college courses do you recommend we take before going to college?
I'm currently taking AP Biology, and a college US History. I was just curious if there are any classes that I could benefit from in high school, before going to college. #college #biology #high-school #history
5 answers
Jerry Tingstad
Professor/middle school teacher/48 years
57
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Jerry’s Answer
I took a day to think about this. For me, it's a rather complex question.
As in Bob Seger's song Night Moves: "Looking for answers without any clues."
I know nothing about your interests, future plans outside of college/university, nor goals. Perhaps you have none at this point in your life beyond higher education as a next step. Which is fine. In many ways better to search around a bit. I changed my major several times in my first two years at university.
Regardless, if you have the opportunity to take college level courses at your high school, by all means, do it. Of course I have no idea of what courses are available. At the moment, you are taking a science and a humanities. Is that a choice among several? If a choice, why one of each? Does this help clear requirements at the institution of your choice? Have you chosen an institution? Or are you just exploring?
In the end, I'd (1) take as many as possible, and, (2) clear requirements if you've chosen a college to go to and know what the core courses are required for the first two years. And taking college level courses will give you a measure of the work expected of you as you move on as well as an exploration of your interests.
Something further: Since I know little regarding you as a person, I have no idea what your attitude is toward work. Do you have outside interests or are you a workaholic? If you're the second, stop reading. There were two courses in my first two years at university that immeasurably enhanced my life and helped me gain a balance. Two two credit courses. Art appreciation. Music appreciation. So-called "blow-offs". Both explored their subject matter through the eras involved. 'For me, my limited understanding of art and music exploded. Not that I decided that the things I loved were not worth loving, but there was more to love. More to explore and understand. Nether course in any way helped me in my future occupation. But broadened my intellect so I could make a fuller use of my life.
Life as a student in higher education is nothing more than a small fraction of a long life. Take advantage of all the institution has to offer.
As in Bob Seger's song Night Moves: "Looking for answers without any clues."
I know nothing about your interests, future plans outside of college/university, nor goals. Perhaps you have none at this point in your life beyond higher education as a next step. Which is fine. In many ways better to search around a bit. I changed my major several times in my first two years at university.
Regardless, if you have the opportunity to take college level courses at your high school, by all means, do it. Of course I have no idea of what courses are available. At the moment, you are taking a science and a humanities. Is that a choice among several? If a choice, why one of each? Does this help clear requirements at the institution of your choice? Have you chosen an institution? Or are you just exploring?
In the end, I'd (1) take as many as possible, and, (2) clear requirements if you've chosen a college to go to and know what the core courses are required for the first two years. And taking college level courses will give you a measure of the work expected of you as you move on as well as an exploration of your interests.
Something further: Since I know little regarding you as a person, I have no idea what your attitude is toward work. Do you have outside interests or are you a workaholic? If you're the second, stop reading. There were two courses in my first two years at university that immeasurably enhanced my life and helped me gain a balance. Two two credit courses. Art appreciation. Music appreciation. So-called "blow-offs". Both explored their subject matter through the eras involved. 'For me, my limited understanding of art and music exploded. Not that I decided that the things I loved were not worth loving, but there was more to love. More to explore and understand. Nether course in any way helped me in my future occupation. But broadened my intellect so I could make a fuller use of my life.
Life as a student in higher education is nothing more than a small fraction of a long life. Take advantage of all the institution has to offer.
Thank you so much for your input. I indeed have no idea what I want to major in ,but I'm trying to get as much college credits as I can.
Samuel
Jessica Gegner
Change Partner Senior
75
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Jessica’s Answer
Honestly, any and all AP courses you can take will benefit you in college (as long as you can get a good enough score on the test to qualify for the college credit). Many AP courses are core courses you will need for your degree anyway (i.e., History, English, Biology, etc.). If it is a course you end up not needing for your degree, it will at least count as an elective which is one last class you have to take and pay for in college.
The dual programs Priya and Rameel mentioned, too, are also very beneficial since you can get high school AND college credit just by taking one class. It is often offered by the state (or at least mine was in Ohio). Mine was called the Postsecondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) and it looks like your state of Minnesota offers that, too! These college courses are offered to Juniors and Seniors and are COMPLETELY FREE which will save you a ton of money in the long run. The only things you will have to pay for are books and equipment. If you go this route, I suggest buying your course books from Amazon (if possible), then selling them back to the school. College textbooks purchased directly from the school can be hundreds of dollars, so buying used textbooks online, then selling them back to the school can sometimes mean you actually make a profit by doing so.
http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/sPages/collegeCreditHS.cfm#:~:text=Postsecondary%20Enrollment%20Options%20(PSEO)%20is,and%20pass%20one%20CTE%20course.
The dual programs Priya and Rameel mentioned, too, are also very beneficial since you can get high school AND college credit just by taking one class. It is often offered by the state (or at least mine was in Ohio). Mine was called the Postsecondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) and it looks like your state of Minnesota offers that, too! These college courses are offered to Juniors and Seniors and are COMPLETELY FREE which will save you a ton of money in the long run. The only things you will have to pay for are books and equipment. If you go this route, I suggest buying your course books from Amazon (if possible), then selling them back to the school. College textbooks purchased directly from the school can be hundreds of dollars, so buying used textbooks online, then selling them back to the school can sometimes mean you actually make a profit by doing so.
http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/sPages/collegeCreditHS.cfm#:~:text=Postsecondary%20Enrollment%20Options%20(PSEO)%20is,and%20pass%20one%20CTE%20course.
Priya Mathew
Licensed Professional Counselor Associate, Art Student
172
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Priya’s Answer
Hi Samuel--I think it all depends. I benefitted from taking dual classes, to get certain basic courses out of the way. I did not benefit as much from my AP courses in terms of credits because I was not able to test out of the classes I would have liked to, BUT I did acquire great basic knowledge and study skills for going into college. In my school, dual courses varied in helpfulness in the information present, but they were applicable for college, and AP classes were often greatly helpful to my learning but did not give me much in terms of college credits. I think any English and Composition course can be your best friend--you will have to do a lot of writing for many majors, unless your looking into a more math-oriented degree (in which I am not sure if it would be as focused on papers.) What are you currently interested in looking into in college/majoring in? Maybe that can guide your choices at this time. If you are not quite sure, I stand behind having a good basis in composition and writing. I have seen that this can be a major weakness for many in college. Good luck!
Brianna Soong
Student
17
Answers
Goleta, California
Updated
Brianna’s Answer
I think the classes you are taking currently are great! Besides just AP classes, you can also look to taking some intro college classes at your local community college, to see how college classes are and possibly find one subject that might be of interest to you :)
Devan Merchant
Adjuster
2
Answers
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Updated
Devan’s Answer
Read, read, read. Take Advanced Placement courses! I did: Calculus, American History, English
Hello!!! I think it depends for insistence I was planning to major in business management so I knew I wanted to focus more on business classes and at my school they had few classes that focus on Microsoft training so that really helped me a lot after highschool. So I would say focus on what you want to major in and then go from there.
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