Is this enough? Too much? Second guessing myself.

[OnTheBrink]

I never used to second guess myself when it came to school, but for whatever reason, I am now. Is this schedule a good balance for 11th grade?

 

English/Lit

Alg 2/Geometry

Spanish

Home Ec

Chemistry

Art

20th century pop culture/history

 

Am I missing anything? Doing too much?

[JanetC]

I consider the minimum requirements to be: math, english, science, social studies plus at least two other credits. You have that.

 

Now, whether this is a good plan for your particular student depends on what your child did for 9th and 10th -- do you have holes or state-required classes you need to fill in? --and what s/he wants to do after graduation --do you have college admissions requirements to fill in? And, at what type of school/major? If you don't know, I would add a half-credit class in career and occupational education and use that to build time for finding out.

 

Junior year is the last full year that college admissions people see on the transcript. They will have courses in progress for 12th and a mid-year report with half-year grades as well, but a lot does depend on 9th to 11th, with the most recent year weighted more heavily.

[OnTheBrink]

She'll be going to CC for her first two years of college, and they don't require a transcript. Their basic requirement is that the student is alive (I'm not kidding!). I just want to make sure I'm not leaving out some glaring subject that is vital.

 

She wants to major in music and will probably get a teaching degree for music education. We're not sure yet where she'll transfer to for her upper division coursework.

 

Thanks! :001_smile:

[JanetC]

She wants to major in music and will probably get a teaching degree for music education. We're not sure yet where she'll transfer to for her upper division coursework.

 

Thanks! :001_smile:

 

You should really re-post this with the words "future music major" in the subject. I'm not sure I can be much help, since my kids are not musicians, but with this information I do have concerns:

 

Why aren't there any music classes in her schedule?

 

If she's going to start at a community college where the only prerequisite is that the student is "breathing" -- will she be well-trained to audition for music schools?

 

I know that you aren't sure where she'll transfer, but CC credits are only guaranteed to transfer to schools with transfer agreements for that particular CC, so you can start with that and call the music departments and see how many transfers they actually take for music education programs in a typical year.

[klmama]

What does she do for music that's not listed? Has she had a formal course in music theory? Aural skills? Music history and appreciation? The better prepared she is in high school in those areas, the better she'll do in her college coursework.

 

I agree that speaking with colleges she might transfer to is a good idea. Music majors (and especially music education majors) often have required courses their first two years which are prerequisites for upper level classes. You'd want to be sure the CC offered them and that they would transfer AND be accepted toward the major. Sometimes schools accept the credits, but not toward the major, so students have to retake the classes from the new college. Since she'd be looking at music ed, she'd really have two different departments to please that way, so communication from the beginning would be even more important.

 

 

 

 

[Gwen in VA]

I second the previous comment -- check out the music classes at the CC and do make sure they will transfer!

 

My dd, alo a future music major, is taking music theory at the "Public Ivy" four-year college down the road from us. We are NOT expecting the classes to transfer because the music schools we have looked at do not allow transfer credits towards the core classes. The expectations for the core music classes differ dramatically between colleges!

 

We are having dd take the music classes at the 4-year so that she is better prepared for college (supposedly the 4-semester music theory sequence is the killer for music majors) and so that she can better show her interest in music on her transcript.

 

Depending on the college where she eventually ends up, even gen ed classes may not transfer. Two of the colleges my dd is looking at allow transfer credits for a MAXIMUM of six credits, no matter where the credits come from, including AP and colleges. Yikes!

 

Do your homework to make sure that transfering in as a music major is a wise option.

[OnTheBrink]

The CC has an AFA (Associate in Fine Arts) degree. I do know that it transfers to one of the universities she's considering. We've not looked much further thus far for other university options. There is only one music prereq for that degree, and it's suggested she take it the summer prior to her college freshman year.

 

Her dad's a prof at the CC, so we know who to talk to in the counseling and transfer centers. She has to be 16 to take any classes there as a high schooler, so we have another year before that can happen.

 

Thanks, everyone, for the input. :)

[JanetC]

Yes, please do talk to the counseling and transfer people, and check out the degree requirements in music education at the schools she might transfer to.

 

It is hard for me to believe that just one music class taken the summer before freshman year at the CC will be enough to finish a degree in music education in two years once she transfers.

[OnTheBrink]

Yes, please do talk to the counseling and transfer people, and check out the degree requirements in music education at the schools she might transfer to.

 

It is hard for me to believe that just one music class taken the summer before freshman year at the CC will be enough to finish a degree in music education in two years once she transfers.

 

 

You misunderstood me. The prereq is for the AA degree in Fine Arts, not in music education. For her to receive the AFA, she needs that one particular music class before taking the coursework for the AFA. The AFA program is for students wishing to transfer to a 4 year university and earn a music education degree.

[JanetC]

 

You misunderstood me. The prereq is for the AA degree in Fine Arts, not in music education. For her to receive the AFA, she needs that one particular music class before taking the coursework for the AFA. The AFA program is for students wishing to transfer to a 4 year university and earn a music education degree.

 

Yep,totally misunderstood you!