Planning Your High School Sequence

When selecting coursework for each year,  consider student  interests and future career possibilities as well as graduation requirements.  Students and parents, with input from teachers and counselors,  can use the worksheet on the left to create a four-year sequence customized to meet individual needs and aspirations.  If you have any questions about planning your high school learning experience, please see your school counselor. 

COLLEGE PREPARATORY: The five academic core areas stressed for admission to college include English, social studies, mathematics, sciences, and world languages. Most colleges will accept some units in other subjects for which the high school gives graduation credit. The kind and number of elective subjects allowed for admission will vary among the colleges. For admission to college the best indicator of success is a student’s high school record. This record is begun in the freshman year. Achievement in subjects, study habits, and attitudes are important each and every year. The college admissions office considers high school records, college entrance examinations, student activities, and personal qualities. However, the high school record is the most important.

LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES: A liberal arts college is one that is committed to the belief that the best preparation for life in our world, and especially toward the professions that require further specialized study, is a broad acquaintance with human knowledge rather than narrowly concentrated training in limited areas. Most universities have colleges of liberal arts, or humanities, or arts and sciences. Colleges of liberal arts prepare for many fields, thus giving students, who may be uncertain of their interests, a broad background and a chance to decide upon specialization later. The liberal arts college frequently has a school of education, fine arts and other divisions, as well as pre-professional fields.

COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGES: The two-year junior, community, or technical college usually has both a terminal and a transfer program. For the transfer program, most students take college preparatory subjects in high school since the two years in a junior college follow closely the same patterns as the first two years in a four-year college. Transfer of credits depends largely upon a student’s success in the junior college. About two-thirds of students in junior colleges expect to transfer to four-year institutions. The terminal courses in a two-year college are designed for those students who wish to receive training for a specific field of work at the end of two years. The college preparatory subjects a student will take in high school should be fairly strong and should cover a variety of fields. High school students uncertain of interests in further education, nervous about success in college, or wavering in choice of an occupational goal, will do well to consider the opportunities of a two-year college program.

BUSINESS COLLEGES: Many colleges and universities have schools of business administration as one division. There are also many colleges mainly for business majors. These colleges generally provide programs which enhance business and administrative competence and maintain a balance between the equally important needs of general education and of professional education for business responsibility. They attempt to develop in their students, through training in modern business practices, the abilities for responsible positions in business and government.

ENGINEERING COLLEGES: Engineering requires more than mere technical ability. Graduates of engineering colleges are expected to be well versed not only in mathematics and science, but also in English and social studies. The curricula in accredited engineering colleges are designed with this goal in mind, and experiences have proven that applicants for admission need an all-inclusive secondary school background. Any college preparatory program offering four years each of English and mathematics, as well as several years each of science, social studies, world languages and computer aided drafting provides an adequate background in coursework for college preparation.

EDUCATION COLLEGES: To prepare for admission to a state university or to a school of education in a college or university, students should plan subjects to complete a well-rounded background for college. If a student seeks to prepare for teaching a special subject area in high school, as many courses as possible should be taken in that subject. Specific distribution requirements of credits vary with the different colleges.

TECHNICAL SCHOOLS: Technical schools offer two years or less of work in a specialized type of skilled trade or in a program to train technicians of various kinds. These areas range widely from electronics or computer science to automobile mechanic or floral design. By taking a variety of subjects in high school students can determine their interest to some extent, but careful planning for further education is a must.

ART CAREERS: The art curriculum is planned to provide sufficient background for occupations in the art and related fields, as well as to improve skills and appreciations. Additional education is often required for art specializations. Careers in commercial art, computer animation and computer graphics, interior decoration, fashion design, art education, display, or others require art courses plus a variety of electives for college entrance or other type of postgraduate school.

OCCUPATIONAL CAREERS:  The occupational program extends over several areas and is planned especially for the student whose primary goal is immediate job placement in industry and in conjunction with post secondary training. Subjects are given in grades 9 and 10 to assist the student in exploring career interests. Lab work is provided to identify and develop mechanical skills and competency. Emphasis is placed on problem-solving and cooperative learning. By completion of grade 10 a student should have more definite ideas about occupational interests and abilities. The student can then choose from the various course offerings the curriculum to follow in grades 11 and 12. Structured Learning Experiences designed to provide students with  learning in the world of work are available.

Most colleges stress five academic core areas for admission: English, social studies, mathematics, science, and world languages. Most colleges will consider units in other subjects for which the high school gives graduation credits. The kind and number of elective subjects recommended for admission will vary among the colleges.

For admission to college the best indicator of success is a student’s high school record, which begins in the freshman year. Achievement in subjects, study habits, and attitudes are important each and every year. The college admissions office considers high school records, college entrance examinations, student activities, and personal qualities. Students are encouraged by teachers and school counselors to enroll in the highest level courses that challenge their interests and abilities while also allowing them to explore their potential.

Pequannock Township High School offers AP courses in the Advanced Placements level and courses in the Honors level. Students must check college bulletins for specific entrance requirements. However, there are certain generalizations that can be made concerning each of the major areas.

ENGLISH: The entrance requirement for most colleges is four years of college preparatory English. A student interested in the major area of English, speech, journalism or drama, should exhibit an interest in and an aptitude for English and attempt to take creative writing and/or related courses in his/her program.

SOCIAL STUDIES: All graduates from Pequannock Township High School must take at least three years of history . This meets most college requirements. A student interested in political science, government, sociology, law or related fields should enroll in additional courses in the social studies areas.

MATHEMATICS: Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry are the usual minimum units required by colleges for admission. Many liberal arts colleges now require three years of mathematics. For majors in engineering, mathematics, science and related areas, a student should take at least four years of college preparatory mathematics in high school, with calculus highly recommended. Additional courses in mathematics are available for students interested in math related occupations.

SCIENCE: Environmental Science, biology, and chemistry represent the usual minimum requirement for college admission. For students entering the field of science, mathematics, engineering, premedical, or pre-dental, four years of science are strongly recommended including physics. An ever-increasing number of liberal arts colleges are requiring three years of science with two years of lab sciences.

WORLD LANGUAGES: Pequannock Township High School offers four years of Spanish and French.  Generally, most liberal arts colleges require at least two years in the same world language for admission, with many requiring three years.

In addition to the courses taken, colleges emphasize the following factors in making a decision on a student’s application:

1. Quality and rigor of student’s academic program in comparison with what is offered at the high school

2. Grades earned

3. Scores on the SAT or ACT (many colleges and universities no longer require SAT or ACT scores for admission)

4. School counselor and teacher recommendations

5. Scores on other standardized tests

6. Co-curricular record

One of the most difficult decisions members of a school community are asked to make is whether or not particular students should or should not elect to take an Honors or Advanced Placement course or start an advanced sequence of courses in a particular subject area. Multiple criteria such as previous grades, teacher recommendations, standardized test scores, and placement tests are employed with a great deal of accuracy to predict which students will meet with success in advanced courses. However, we recognize that there are no foolproof criteria. The following guidelines define the behaviors of successful students.  Those students considering enrolling in advanced classes should read through the list:

• Successful students read independently, regularly, and widely and they read quality works of fiction and nonfiction.

• Successful students have a sense of purpose and direction. They have goals for the future and are continually working toward attaining those goals.

• Successful students attend class regularly and on time. If they miss a class, they let the teacher know why and make sure they get all assignments.

• Successful students participate in class. They are involved in class discussions, ask questions, work well in groups, and raise the academic level of their peers.

• Successful students see their teacher before or after class about grades or comments made on their papers and about upcoming tests.

• Successful students turn in all assignments on time. They take time to produce a final project that best reflects their learning.

• Successful students work diligently both inside and outside of school. They take notes and annotate while reading.  Their class notes are used to make connections to prior knowledge, they jot down questions to ask of the teacher, and seek to clarify the information.  Finally, they reflect on key learning from each lesson. The work that is submitted is authentic and represents their ideas and/or research.

• Title I – in which a student will receive individualized instruction in reading comprehension, writing development and study skills during the school day from a certified teacher. (Offered when available)

• Summer School – in which students pursue work for enrichment or for remediation at state approved summer schools. Prior approval from the Principal is required.

• Vocational Education – in which students select specific, career oriented courses from the offerings of Morris County School of Technology. (See your school counselor for program information and availability.) One half of the school day is spent at the technical school, the other half at Pequannock Township High School.

• Work-Based Learning (WBL) – The Work-Based Learning (WBL) program offers students the opportunity to enhance both academic and vocational skills through coursework and an internship experience. This program takes the place of senior year electives and needs to be requested during the regular scheduling process.

• Senior Capstone – The Senior Capstone is a program that provides an opportunity for eligible PTHS seniors to spend a portion of their last year of high school in professional internships with local companies or in service learning experiences. 

• AP Capstone - There are two courses encompassed in AP Capstone (AP Seminar and AP Research.) AP Seminar encourages students to explore topics that matter to them (real-world issues), use inquiry, and develop research-driven essays.  By the end of the year, students will analyze multiple perspectives and ideas, and formulate arguments to craft well-written work. AP Research, year two of the AP Capstone Program, offers a deeper exploration of AP Seminar.

• Option II- Students are permitted to earn credit toward graduation through Option II learning experiences.  These experiences include, but are not limited to: interdisciplinary or theme-based programs, independent study, early college credit, magnet programs, student exchange programs, distance learning, on-line learning, work-based programs, internships, service learning, co-curricular or extra-curricular programs, and/or other structured learning experiences.  Participation in Option II is predicated on the application process through which students seek approval. The process for application, evaluation and assessment is detailed in the forms provided on the high school counseling website. Attainment of credit toward graduation is based on the successful completion of assessments that verify student achievement in meeting or exceeding the New Jersey Student Learning Standards at the high school level.