Course Selection FAQs

Use the resources linked here to learn about required classes. Course descriptions, graduation requirements and college entrance requirements have been prepared for you in the Vista del Lago Program Planning Guide. 

The course selection process is a request for courses, not a guarantee for courses. Students will be scheduled into chosen alternative classes if the first choice becomes unavailable or they are ineligible due to final grades. Courses are selected for the ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR. 

Students interested in challenging an academic course shall file a petition form with their counselor prior to or within the first week of a term.  IF APPROVED, THE EXAM WILL BE GIVEN THE FIRST WEEK OF THE TERM. WE DO NOT OFFER CHALLENGE EXAMS BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS.  A course challenge exam may be offered when the academic course is part of a sequence of courses normally taken in specific order or when the course is normally required for entry into another course.  We cannot guarantee that a replacement course will be available in the same year or term that the exam is taken.

During their enrollment in high school, students may challenge no more than four courses which meet graduation requirements. A student may challenge only one course per semester. Courses previously taken where credit was received, remedial courses, and physical education/health courses are exempted from the course challenge program.  A student may challenge a particular course only once, and he/she cannot later enroll in the same course to improve or replace a challenge grade. The challenge grade is permanent on the student’s high school transcript.  The student must earn an A or B grade to receive credit for challenging a course by examination. 

Check required prerequisites before selecting a course. A comprehensive list titled Course Guide and Prerequisites is linked here.

Vista del Lago students will not have access to the FCUSD summer school program. Students should plan to repeat any necessary courses during the school year. No other out of district summer courses will be accepted for credit. Please see the Course Substitution Policy in the Vista del Lago Curriculum guide for further details regarding the completion of credits outside of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District. 

Start by visiting the AP Program home page. You will find links to all AP/Honors classes. Review the material provided on the homepage of the course you are interested in. Complete the Google form on the course home page to get credit for this mandatory task.  

11th and 12th graders are eligible to be teacher and office assistants. If you would like to be scheduled for a teacher/office assistant position, you will need to enter the teachers name into your course selection form and it will be submitted to the teacher for approval.

11 th and 12 th graders may have a max of 1 unscheduled block per term as long as they are on track for graduation. Please consult the Course Guide and Prerequisites for the correct course code number and use it for one or two of your elective choices depending on if you want 1 unscheduled period for one term or two terms. We cannot guarantee that you will be able to be unscheduled for a specific term or block. 

As of the 2025-2026 school year, there are not any online courses availible at Vista.

Please see the page linked HERE for more information.

Please see the page linked HERE for more information.

In many cases there are more students interested in an elective course than for which there is room. The process for selecting who will take the course if it is over enrolled is as follows. 

Priority will be given to: 

1. Students with registration forms signed by student and guardian turned in by the due date. 

2. Students in the grade level for which the course was intended (example: AP Chemistry is designed for 11 th -12 th grade students) 

3. Highest grade level in upper level elective classes (for example: 12th graders will get priority over 11th and 10th ) 

Students interested in graduating after their junior year must submit an application during registration for their 11 th grade year. Students interested in graduating midterm of their senior year must submit an application during registration for their 12 th grade year. Application for early graduation can be found on the "Resources" tab of this website and must be submitted with your registration materials. Please see curriculum guide for early graduation policy. 

Be very careful to enter your course requests accurately into PowerSchool. If an error is made the course selection form is flagged and reviewed for correction. This may cause a delay and can cause students to not get their first choice courses. Some examples of errors are: requesting a course where the prerequisite has not been met, not selecting matching the matching 1st semester (A) and 2nd semester (B) for each course and not completing required tasks such as asking a teacher to be their TA or reviewing AP course slide decks and submitting the Google Form.

Once you have turned in your registration materials, if you have a change, you will need to request it on the course confirmation sheet given out in May. On the back side of the form you will have a place to request changes. We are unable to entertain change requests before that time.