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Listed below are questions that
students and parents alike frequently ask high school counselors. Please refer
to the answers listed on this web page before making appointments with your
alpha counselor. In the case of more specific questions, please feel free to
contact your counselor.
What
are the requirements for high school graduation and college entrance?
High school graduation from MSJ
and MINIMUM college entrance requirements into the UC and CSU systems differ in
a few areas. Please note the following chart.
|
MSJ
|
CSU/UC
|
|
English - 4 years |
English - 4 years |
|
Science - 2 years
( 1 physical & 1 life) |
Social Studies - 2 years |
|
Social Studies - 3 years |
Science - 2 years
(Biology & Chemistry or Physics) |
|
Math - any 3 years
(Algebra required) |
Math - 3 years
Algebra I & II and Geometry |
|
Foreign Language/Fine Art -
1 year of either
|
Foreign Language -
2 years of the same language taken consecutively |
|
Fine Art - 1 year |
|
Health - 1 semester
PE - 2 years |
College prep elective - 1
year |
|
Electives - 75 units |
|
|
Service learning
+ 20 hours - class of 2004
+ 40 hours - class of 2005+ |
SAT I or ACT and SAT II's
for UC's |
How can my student get
into the Honors Program at Mission San Jose High School?
Students who are
GATE identified in a particular subject are eligible to enroll in corresponding
honors classes. For those students who are not GATE identified, the following
must take place:
How can a student make up
credits for classes he or she failed or received a grade of D?
Students may
repeat a class in which they failed or received a "D" during summer school, or
if their schedule permits, during the school year with the student's
administrator's approval. Comparable classes may be taken at the community
college with administrative and counselor approval, but unless that class is
needed for graduation, it will remain on their college transcript only.
Fremont Adult School is an option for those students not desiring college prep
credit.
What
foreign language should my student enroll in for college admittance?
Any foreign
language that a student has an interest for or a talent in. Foreign language
levels earned in junior high will be accepted as meeting college entrance
requirements if a grade of C or better is earned and the student completes two
or more years consecutively. Universities encourage students to enroll in
languages other than their primary language.
Can a student earn
physical education credits during the summer?
PE will only be available
in summer school to students who have received a D or F final grade.
Intervention dollars/guidelines limit our ability to offer acceleration
opportunities to students.
When should a high school student
take his or her college admittance test?
California State
Universities require students to take either the SAT I or ACT. The Universities
of California require students to submit SAT I or ACT scores plus three SAT II
test scores. Both of these systems accept test scores through the December test
date of the student's senior year (except for Cal Poly SLO and San Diego State
University. These universities accept scores through the October test date of
the student's senior year). Student's should plan accordingly so that they may
take these tests again if they desire an improved score. The required SAT II
tests are in math, writing and one test of the students choice. It is best if
the student takes this exam after he or she has completed the course work. For
example- if a student is enrolled in Chemistry her junior year and she wishes to
take the SAT II Chemistry exam she should take this exam in April or June when
the chemistry class is ending.
Starting with
the
graduating class of 2006, the SAT format has changed. The SAT I now includes a
writing portion. The SAT IIs will consist of two subject tests of the student's choice.
What is the
difference between the high school Fine Arts requirements and the college
entrance Fine Arts requirements?
For a high school
diploma, a student must complete either one year of a foreign language and/or
one year of a fine art. For example, if a student completes the first year of
Spanish, then this requirement has been met for high school graduation; if a
student chooses to fulfill the requirement by taking one year of an art class
such as Photography, then s/he has met the one year requirement for graduation
purposes. The 1 year of fine art/foreign language requirement is two semesters,
or a total of 10 units.
The college
entrance requirement, however, specifies that a student must take one year of a
visual performing art (V.P.A.) for admission purposes. The foreign language
requirement for college is a separate two year minimum requirement, and has no
relation to the fine art requirement for admission purposes. Students should
follow our UC A-G List, which is posted on our web site, to make sure that the
fine art class they have chosen has been UC approved. Some examples of how to
fulfill the one year V.P.A. requirement include: Art I, Photo I, Digital
Imaging, Fine Arts of the 20th Century, Drama, Band, and so on
|
High School Requirement |
College
Requirement |
| 1 year
Fine Art or Foreign Language |
1 year Fine Art |
| |
2 years
(minimum) Foreign Language |
Can I complete a class at a
community college for high school credit?
Students have an
option of completing a class at a community college for high school credit only
if the class they wish to take is not offered at the high school level, or if
they are lacking credits for their high school diploma and will be unable to
complete the required class in time for graduation. As an example, a second
semester senior may be behind in credits for graduation purposes, and this
student would be allowed to use a community college class on their MSJHS
transcript for credit. As always, prior counselor/administrator approval is
required. Students may not skip ahead by taking classes in advance of the year
that they are normally required to take the class in high school without
approval. Students are allowed to take Algebra II at a community college, with
the counselor, administrator and math department chair approval, but this
requires the student to take two classes at Ohlone: Math 181 (Trigonometry) and
Math 152 (Algebra II). Both must be completed with a grade of "C" or better in
order for the student to enroll in precalculus.
What is a
weighted GPA?
A weighted
grade-point-average is one that includes extra points for all approved UC A-G
underlined honors and Advanced Placement courses, and all college courses. For
every underlined class, a student will receive an extra point in the
grade-point-average, so that for every A, a student receives 5 points, for every
B a student receives 4 points, and for every C a student receives 3 points. Our
high school transcript does not weight grades, so the G.P.A. listed on the
bottom of the transcript is unweighted, and students must calculate honors and
A.P. courses on their own. Please refer to the CSU Application Booklet for a
chart on how to weight a grade-point-average for college admission purposes or
ask your counselor or Career Center technician.
What are
college admissions officers looking for?
College
admissions officers are seeking the best prepared students for their particular
programs. In general, they look at courses taken, grades earned and college
entrance exam scores. They look for candidates who will be successful at their
institution, who can bring something of value to the student body. Evidence of
special talents, interests, activities, athletic ability, leadership or public
service may help a candidate get into the school of choice. Read your college
catalog or admissions information pamphlets or check college web sites. Colleges
may need or want different talents or students with various backgrounds.
What is
the best extra curricular activity in which to be involved?
Students should
involve themselves with the school or community activity that they find most
rewarding. The activities that bring personal meaning to you, improve your
special talents or meets the school or community's needs will be the ones in
which you will likely excel. In depth involvement and excellence will help you
stand out from the crowd of other hopeful college applicants. In other words
improve yourself in the ways that you find most rewarding personally. It is
better to be involved or to excel in one or two areas than to have a superficial
list of activities that you jumped into so that you could have a long list on
your college application.
I'm a band student.
Does it count for physical education credit?
It can.
Sophomores taking their second year of band can waive 10th grade physical
education as long as the student is enrolled in band for all four years. Ninth
grade students are required to take physical education. If a student does not
complete 10th and 11th grade band units, the PE requirement remains necessary
for graduation.
The ROP
class I enrolled in is not a good fit for me. What are my options?
First, research
these classes before you sign up! Talk to the career center technician, your
counselor, teachers and other students. Read the ROP pamphlets. Class changes
may not be possible, but if another ROP class is open, a transfer may occur.
These transfers can be difficult due to class time conflicts.
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