High School Electives
Elective classes are a type of class that students may choose to take while in high school. These classes include courses such as multicultural literature or drama club.
Classes that students take outside their core areas of study, foreign language and math, for example, are electives. Electives provide students with a different way to learn the material from the other core studies they will take in high school.
How many electives are required in high school to graduate?
Most schools require between 14 and 24 credits to graduate. High school electives are not required, although they may be beneficial in the future for your college applications if you choose to keep them instead of dropping them before graduation.
If you’re interested, you should talk with your guidance counsellor or administration about which electives are available at your school and how many credits will be required by the time you reach graduation.
What kind of high school elective classes can I take?
The best types of high school elective classes are those that interest you the most, but there are also some other options to consider as well. Many students benefit from participating in extracurricular activities including clubs or sports, which form a great part of their high school experience. It’s also possible that you could earn a scholarship at some point if you excel enough in these types of activities.
Beyond clubs and sports, taking more standard elective classes can help you discover new interests as well as improve your chances of getting into the college of your choice if you keep them on your high school transcript. If it’s likely to be beneficial for either of those things, it’s probably worth adding any educational electives to your schedule including:
- Art history – Looking at famous works and artists throughout history is an important part of appreciating great art and its role in society.
- Computer programming – Coding is becoming increasingly necessary in the modern world for everything from designing websites to creating computer applications to monitor a company’s financial status.
- Forensic science – Crime scene investigation and autopsy analyses are required to solve the crimes that fuel movies and TV shows, but uncovering evidence is also important in legal proceedings.
- Oceanography – The largest part of our planet remains mostly unexplored which means plenty of opportunity for fresh discoveries about what lies on its floor or deep beneath its surface.
- Statistics – All types of businesses rely on data analysis, including marketing research by large corporations like Coca-Cola (KO).
- Biotechnology – Descriptions of genetically engineered dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park” might be more fiction than fact, but learning about living things at the molecular level could help you discover new ways to improve medical treatments.
- Anatomy – Studying the human body at this level is dangerous without supervision, but learning about its structure and function can help prepare you for work in health care or other jobs where human performance matters.
Homeschool High School Electives
Elective classes for homeschooled students are usually called “homeschool electives.” They may require a performance-based evaluation in order to help determine whether or not you’ll excel at the material or if it will be more difficult than expected.
In some cases, your parents might want you to take certain types of high school electives even if they’re not required by your local public school district. For example, many communities have been moving towards including yoga and meditation as a part of their physical education curriculums. If your parents want to make sure you receive this type of training, they could ask the administration for approval for you to take additional elective courses instead.
If homeschooling sounds like something you’d like to do for high school, your parents will need to get approval from the local school administration before you can register for elective classes. You might be able to take some of the same ones at your public school, especially if they’re not very popular and therefore unlikely to fill up all their slots.
If homeschooling is an option in your area but it doesn’t sound like something that’s right for you or your family, you’ll probably still be able to choose most of the same types of courses as students attending traditional schools. As with public high school classes though, there might be limits on how many “homeschool electives” a student can take since every minute counts towards graduation credits.
- Rocks and Minerals – If you’re interested in geology or other earth sciences, then knowing about the immense variety of rocks and minerals that make up our planet is a great start.
- Technology – Computers have become an integral part of modern life and although the internet might seem like magic it’s based on some very complicated technologies.
- Composition – Learning to express yourself through writing doesn’t only help prepare you for college courses, but also more demanding high school subjects which often require written essays.
- Yoga – This exercise encourages calmness, strength, flexibility, and body control making it ideal for students who aren’t excited about team sports.
- If your parents don’t feel comfortable teaching you homeschool high school electives, it might be time to start looking into private schools or other options.
- Geography – No matter what the weather’s like where you live, there are places that see rainforests, deserts, and glaciers. Learning about the world helps prepare students for college courses in case they want to get a degree in geography or another earth science subject.
- Drama – If you enjoy being on stage but also shy away from joining an after-school drama club, then studying acting can help you find your place in the spotlight whether at home or during extracurricular activities at school.
- Economics – This class teaches how people work together towards common goals while remaining aware of scarce resources.
- Journalism – Learning how to read critically and write well is important for many types of classes in high school. The lessons you learn can also help when college comes around.
- Travel Management (Tour Guiding) – You might not be able to travel much during the rest of your time in high school, but learning about exciting places people visit helps improve your imagination and prepares you for the future.
If there are no homeschool high school elective classes available or if they’re so popular that you either need to wait a long time before enrolling or forget about it altogether, your best option might be an online course provided by a different type of institution.
How should I schedule my electives?
Although your high school elective courses don’t have to be scheduled in any particular order, it can make sense to plan them around your other classes. If you’re taking mostly math and science electives during one semester, it might make sense to take language classes like foreign languages or humanities (such as history) during another semester since those require less studying. You should also consider which electives match well with core classes that you have to take. If you need an art class to graduate, for example, it’s probably a good idea to schedule your math and science electives at the beginning of the semester since those typically require more studying.
Will my high school elective classes affect my college admissions?
It can be a plus for your college applications if you take at least one or two high school electives that interest you during your time in high school. College admissions counsellors will want to see a well-rounded student who is willing to explore new opportunities outside of the core courses required by most schools for graduation. It makes sense to keep those types of classes on your transcript as long as they don’t interfere with passing grades in other important subjects like math and science.
Do high school electives matter?
Taking advantage of your high school elective courses is a good way to explore other interests and improve your credentials for college admissions. Taking electives in subjects like art, oceanography and computer programming can be an important part of your education.
Is it important to take high school electives?
You can benefit from taking at least a couple of high school electives. If you’re a self-motivated learner with a strong work ethic, then doing well in those types of courses should reflect well on your college applications.
What do high school electives mean?
Taking time to explore other interests is an important part of education, which includes learning new skills that can open up doors after you graduate. By taking some or all of your elective courses in subjects like art, computer programming and statistics, for example, you’ll be able to gain new skills while exploring topics outside of the traditional academic track.
What are online high school electives?
Many online high school elective courses are offered through an online high school. These courses generally require students to complete assignments, projects, tests and exams on their own time (such as at home) rather than in a classroom setting.
Online high school electives may include classes that you can take for college credit or certification, or they might be more general education classes that help you learn more about certain topics of interest. Some schools offer only one type of class while others offer both. You may also find some schools that allow you to select from a wide variety of available courses so you can create your own course load each semester.
What are the benefits of online high school electives?
Online high school electives offer many benefits. You can learn in your own environment, even if you do not have direct access to an actual high school or college campus. This form of education is often cheaper than attending a regular physical campus because you don’t need to pay for housing, food or other amenities that may come with living on-campus. You also don’t need to worry about scheduling conflicts like when professors schedule exams during the same time as religious holidays.
What can I study in online high school electives?
Depending on the courses offered by the school, you may be able to take business management courses or accounting classes. Other classes might allow you to take more general classes in subjects like philosophy or literature. Online high school electives are often more flexible than regular physical schooling because you can pick courses that are of particular interest to you. You might find it easy to complete the nutrition course at 1 p.m., for example, while you might not be able to attend a class at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays during your lunch break at work.
How do I enrol in online high school electives?
There are two main ways to enrol in online high school elective classes: through an accredited online high school with physical campuses in your area or by signing up directly with the academic institution that offers specific courses that interest you. To learn more about available online high school electives, contact High School of America today!