How many classes at a time?

[mckittre]

Back when I was in high school (a pretty good public high school with AP and honors classes that sent lots of kids to good colleges), everyone took 6 classes at a time. There was no way whatsoever to take more within the school day, and the college prep kids rarely took fewer. On the various planning threads, I often see more, sometimes significantly more. So I figure these expectations have probably changed, and I'm not sure what to ask of my kid.

How many classes is normal/expected/enough? Does that change across the high school years?

I have a computer science-loving kid starting high school next year, who's advanced in math and science, somewhat behind in writing. I don't know where he'll end up, but I'd like to set him up with a course load that would allow him to aim for at least somewhat competitive colleges if he chooses to go that way. 

[teachermom2834]

My three homeschooled grads had 7-8 credits per year. It varied how many they took at one time/how many credits each were worth/ how it was spread out. Sometimes they took a summer course. But I think they each ended up with 32 total credits. I think in 28-32 is pretty common for a full load though some kids have more. Bare minimum graduation requirements are more like 22-24 credits I think in my region. 
 

My dd is in a private school and everyone takes 8 courses at a time (exceptions being those who really struggle and need a support period or seniors that can convince guidance they have a good reason for a study hall). So in her school everyone will graduate with 32 credits except a few kids who will tack on some summer studies for a few extra. 
 

That said, for both my homeschooled dc and my traditionally schooled dd, those 8 courses per year are not created equal. It’s more like 5-6 solid courses and a couple much easier ones. At my dd’s school everyone has an easy religion course and at least one easy elective in the schedule. 

[8filltheheart]

It is so very kid dependent that it is hard to even answer. I have had a very driven advanced student who took 10 crs one semester (4 of them advanced science/ math classes at our local 4 yr U.) Equally, I have had very solid academic students who took 6.

[kokotg]

I see a lot of kids, both homeschooled and in public school, take more, but FWIW, my husband is a high school teacher so I can say that 6 is still the standard at a lot of highly rated high schools around me (Atlanta metro area). The school he's at now is a charter school with an extra period, so 7 is  the norm, but at his old school right down the street (same county) it was 6, and plenty of kids go to selective colleges from there. That said, the ability to add in more to suit your kid's interests and goals pretty easily is one of the benefits of homeschooling.

[teachermom2834]

I think the quality of what you do as demonstrated by test scores/extracurriculars/course descriptions is going to matter far more than the numbers. Six is absolutely fine with other strong evidence of achievement and aptitude. The schools around me are not good and they do two semesters of four classes each and it isn’t better than six classes at a stronger school. 

[SKL]

I took 6-7 classes in high school, college prep, graduating in 3 years.  6 was really too light for me, but I didn't have a lot of options.

My kids (b&m public school) are generally taking 6-7 classes (counting semester classes as half).  There may be people taking 8, but we don't care about that.  Their school doesn't have a separate lunch period, so if you take 8 classes, you have to scarf a packed lunch somewhere in between.

Have you downloaded a copy of your school's course list?  Ours has so many interesting options compared to when I was young.  For one thing, there is a four-year engineering sequence for kids into stem.  I didn't realize this until it was too late for my kids to get in.

[Farrar]

My experience is that homeschoolers do better in admissions when they have above and beyond 6 courses over 4 years. Especially when they have coursework that stands out in some way.

[Momto6inIN]

My 3 oldest kids have all had 6 academic credits each year. Sometimes maybe they'd have a half credit of PE or piano/Fine Arts if they wanted to take more academic classes and have those added in as extras. They have some pretty stellar ECs on their applications too, but academics-wise just the 6 credits. It was important to us that they have a balanced life not filled entirely with school. There were also many things they learned about and studied that we didn't "turn into a credit", they just did it because it was interesting. So I guess we could have put more credits on their transcripts, but we chose not to.

The oldest was admitted to a selective competitive major and the other 2 have received merit scholarships, so it hasn't hurt them at all.

[Clemsondana]

My school had 7 credits each year, and spouse's school had 6.  Many schools have switched to block scheduling, where students have 4 classes each day that meet for a longer block of time.  There are a couple of ways to do this, some good and some dumb, but the end results is that kids in those schools can take 8 credits each year.  Some kids who do this finish early - college football teams that have 'early enrollees' who start in January likely did this, and we know a couple of local kids who finished early and started work/college/whatever they're doing next.  Some of the kids on my older's ball team seem to take PE every year (it's when they get their workouts in, instead of having to do them before or after school).  So, they may have 32 credits but 4 of them are PE.  The same happens with kids who do band ever year, or choir, etc.  

My older has done 8 each year for the first 3 years of high school.  Some are challenging courses and some check a box.  Some were never meant to be hard - kid had to have health to graduate, but how hard is anybody going to make health class?  That being said, I'm not sure what kid will do senior year.  Kid is likely to DE a lot, and since some of the classes will be 4 hr classes (calc, physics with lab) I'm not sure if kid will want to do 3 vs 4 courses each semester.  Kid may do something interest-led at home to make another credit or 2, I'm still not sure.  

All of this being said, I'm not sure that my younger will follow the same path.  Kid is comparably smart, but much less academically motivated.  I think that only 24 credits are required to graduate, and I'd expect younger to earn no more than 28, and probably fewer.  

[mckittre]

Thanks for the help. Kid is pretty advanced in some things, but tends to lazy/distracted rather than driven. However, he's a reasonably compliant student and interested in college, so is likely to do as many classes as I tell him he should. Maybe I'll start with 7 and see how it goes.

In the electives, is it OK to have some of the same ones year after year? Kid has been studying computer science since 6th grade and it's his favorite subject, so I imagine I'd just keep it on the transcript every year if his interest continues. 

[teachermom2834]

I’m no expert but I would say yes to computer science every year if that is his interest. I would just call it something different to show he is progressing/learning different things. 
 

My dd will probably have a theatre elective every year on her private school transcript and she isn’t even particularly talented or going to pursue it beyond high school. I don’t think it will hurt her at all but computer science would be even better. 

[8filltheheart]

6 hours ago, mckittre said:

Thanks for the help. Kid is pretty advanced in some things, but tends to lazy/distracted rather than driven. However, he's a reasonably compliant student and interested in college, so is likely to do as many classes as I tell him he should. Maybe I'll start with 7 and see how it goes.

In the electives, is it OK to have some of the same ones year after year? Kid has been studying computer science since 6th grade and it's his favorite subject, so I imagine I'd just keep it on the transcript every year if his interest continues. 

 

10 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

I’m no expert but I would say yes to computer science every year if that is his interest. I would just call it something different to show he is progressing/learning different things. 
 

My current college jr had 3 yrs of CS on her high school transcript: intro to pytho, intro of java, and intro to C++.  Having a background in those allowed her to join a professor's research team 1st semester freshman yr.