Academic stress comes from three main sources:
- Restrictions and lack of availability for certain subjects can hinder your progress and search for alternatives.
- Course difficulty. Some subjects are just taught in a tough way – and many of these courses are inevitable parts of your current or future schedule.
- Competition is tough. A lot of us work hard, put up with grading curves, and other measurements that make us feel like we’re barely keeping our hear above water.
4 Things Give You A Way Out.
- Fulfill requirements on YOUR terms
There are many ways to fulfill the course requirements of any course category. Yes, all students must learn Algebra. But that doesn’t mean you have to take Algebra I. There are alternative courses at different institutions which fulfill the same requirement, but could just exist under a different title. Less savvy students stop at the course title, which is a HUGE mistake. We find that students often assume they are under a lot of restrictions simply because of how their public schools work. However, once they begin to look for options on their own terms, a lot of doors begin to open up.
Experience tells us that a student performs better in courses that they like or are passionate about. Public schools can’t afford to offer this kind of variety, hence their one-size-fits-all approach. On the other hand, smaller institutions like LCP have the flexibility to offer coursework in a manner that makes more sense on an individualized level. In fact, a different style and environment is often all a student needs to succeed in a difficult course.
Remember: you may take any college prep course on the UC-approved A-G list of any school to get the grade and credits needed for higher education. Pick the one that works for you.
- Take an AP Course earlier.
You might object and think, “Wait, I thought you were telling me to reduce stress!” Believe it or not, we’re not going back on our word here. The key is to start early.
Many students don’t start taking their first class until 10th grade, if they’re fortunate enough to get access. Then students have to stack 4-5 AP’s in a year just to compete with their peers. Then many students repeat that process the following year, if they aren’t already burned out.
Compare that to a student who is able to take 2 AP’s a year, which is a manageable number. Starting as early as 9th grade in a course such as AP Human Geography, a student who keeps this pace can easily accumulate 8 AP’s over the course of their high school career. 2 AP’s per year is quite manageable for most students, and that’s a result that other students have to work twice as hard in (Perhaps 4 AP’s per year, in 11th and 12th grade).
Interestingly, that doesn’t even count the summers. Some of our students have long since learned the secrets to decreasing their stress by spreading out their AP’s into the summer as well. They’re accumulating as many as 10-12 AP courses without grinding themselves into dust!
An even greater irony is that there are regular and Honors based courses which put you through just as much effort as an AP course but give you less reward for your effort. What a ripoff for your time and effort!
- Drop underperforming courses
If you’re not doing well in a course, drop it. You don’t want to use this as an easy way out and flunk all your classes, but inevitably, many students will hit that brick wall of a tough course, mismatched teacher, or other life circumstances.
This is a huge stress-inducer! Often, it seems like there is no way out, but in reality, there is! If you drop a course, especially before a W appears on your transcript, you can find an alternative to fulfill the same requirement. Again, this is related to our first tip on this list. Take what’s right for you. So long as it appears on the UC’s A-G list, it will fulfill your requirements for university applications.
Talk to your guidance counselors for options. Often times, there are many unexplored paths that will surprise you.
- Remember that it isn’t the end of the world
But let’s say you failed a course and didn’t know about the alternatives. What then?
Credit Recovery is a great option which allows you to have a second lease on GPA. Practice is a key component for success, and we all need different amounts of it. Subsequent attempts on a course will allow that review to sink in and cement a good foundation for courses that are built on top – but failing to build that foundation creates a cycle of unreadiness and further stress in the future.
Not all of us get it right on the first time, but many students will do so the second time around. Unfortunately, we live in a school system which tends to punish us without another chance, and we are taught that that’s how things are.
That simply isn’t the reality. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you’re doomed when you’re not!
There are a lot of ways out!
In conclusion, never lose sight of your options and your ways out. High school can present a lot of obstacles, but you can always make things right… if you know how to access the opportunities. Doing so requires firm decision making and an unwillingness to bend to systems that don’t work for you. Fortunately, we see more and more students waking up to the fact that they have great power over the course of their own education, and they’re discovering success that they never thought they could have!