The time has come to choose your courses for the 2025-2026 school year. You may be wondering “What courses do I choose? What ones do I need to graduate?” If you are, here is some information and tips for you.
On Tuesday, February 5, Bel Air High School held their annual course selection seminar for all 9th, 10th and 11th grade students. Throughout the assembly, the counselors talked about what options and requirements everyone will have for their next year of high school. Freshman, sophomores and juniors must take a total of 8 classes per semester, whereas Seniors can take 4; this could include taking classes at Harford County Community College.
Requirements
To graduate, here are the requirements you must have. First, you must have a completer, this could be 2 years of the same language with Algebra II or four credits from taking certain elective each year of high school. You also must have 1 Technology credit. 4 years of Math and English, three of Science and History, 2 credits from Gym/Health, and lastly a Fine Art credit. This may seem like a lot, but most of these you will obtain naturally as you complete each grade level.
Tips for 9th Grade
Incoming Sophomores, by now you have adjusted and gotten in the swing of high school, but to prevent the “sophomore slump” here are some helpful tips from Sophomore Marlo Ivy, “Time management is very important when it comes to sophomore year.” If you manage your time wisely you will feel more relaxed throughout the year.
Tips for 10th Grade
Incoming Juniors, this year will be the hardest of your life. You will be visiting colleges and preparing to apply for some as well. You will have to take the SAT’s and ACT for important tests that most colleges will look at during the application process. Junior, Olivia Carmello passionately expresses how “using stress management tools, will help you from getting overwhelmed with all that is on your plate.” Doing this is important, because having all of this on your plate can be hard to carry and this could cause issues during the year making it even more difficult to get through.
12th Grade and Beyond
Incoming Seniors, Senior Ethan Dean strongly recommends to “try and tackle all your college responsibilities in the summer so you can just enjoy the beginning of your senior year.” Early on in your senior year, there will be a lesson in English classes on how to write your essay, which will help a lot.
High school can seem scary and overwhelming, but if you prepare and take it one step at a time, you will get through it.