The most important part of any college application is your academic record. Colleges want to know if students challenged themselves academically. The more rigorous classes you take in core subject areas, the better prepared you will be for college. Most colleges and universities would rather see a transcript with some Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses – even if you do not receive all A’s – than a straight-A transcript without any challenging courses.
In general, Honors courses, Advanced Placement (AP) courses, and/or college ( two or four year) course work on a transcript indicate that the student is likely to succeed in college. Admissions officers will use the Lynn English School Profile to determine how many advanced courses Lynn English offers and to what extent a student took advantage of those classes.
The Massachusetts Department of Education recommends taking the set of courses listed below to prepare you for college and career. These requirements are a good minimum benchmark for an application to any college, although some colleges or schools may have different requirements. Information about academic requirements is often available through a college’s admissions office or on their website.
- Four years of English
- Four years of Math (including Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry and Trigonometry)
- Three years of History (including United States History and World History)
- Three years of a Laboratory Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics)
- Two years of the same Foreign Language
- Elective courses (Arts, Business Education, Health, Technology, etc.)
It is still possible to attend college if you have not taken all of the courses listed above. For example, Massachusetts community colleges admit any high school graduate. If you transfer to a four-year college or university, your community college academics will be reviewed in addition to your high school academics.
