There are two forms in our Program Planning Guide that you will want to review. Our Course Request form asks you to list the courses you would like to request for the next school year. The Plan of Study chart helps you to plan out the courses you will take during all four years of high school high school. You can download the Program Planning Guide to get both of these forms. If you are a new student, you can send an email to your new counselor instead of completing the form.

After reviewing the general information on how to select your courses and the SAS graduation requirements, use the four-year planning chart to develop a high school plan of study. While you may change your course of study over the years, having a roadmap can help you make certain you complete all of your graduation requirements while taking a balanced academic load each year. 

College Preparation

In order to take full advantage of the rich curriculum at SAS and to prepare yourself for a successful and rewarding college experience, you should aim much higher than the SAS minimum graduation requirements. Admission officers at colleges and universities expect students to complete successfully a challenging set of courses. And while it is important to take challenging courses, it’s equally important that courses be chosen in which your chances of success are good. Earning D’s and F’s is never impressive, regardless of the course. If you can do successful work in advanced courses, you should be taking them. But remember, each student is different, and courses of study can and should vary from student to student. For a student who has interest in the science or engineering areas, for example, a high school program would probably contain more courses in the math and science areas. And finally, there is no magical number of AP or honors level courses that will result in a college acceptance. Please seek advice from your teachers and counselor as you decide your high school course of study. We’re all on the same team; we want you to be placed in courses where you will learn and be successful.

As a part of most college applications, counselors are asked to complete a "Secondary School Report." Among other things, this report asks about the SAS grading scale, how courses are weighted, and your GPA. It also asks counselors to rate the rigor of the student’s overall academic program. Although counselors must use some subjectivity, the following are the general guidelines used at SAS to rate a student’s program:

Less than demanding program
A student will graduate having met the minimum SAS graduation requirements.

Average program
A student meets the recommended college prep load as outlined on the SAS Four Year Plan.

Demanding program
A student will graduate having completed a demanding academic load that generally includes one or two honors courses and a few AP courses.

Very demanding
A student typically enrolls in five academic core courses each year and will graduate having completed 3 to 6 AP’s* or other highest-level courses.

Most demanding possible
A student enrolls in five academic core courses each year and will graduate having completed the highest-level courses in several academic areas. The transcript usually includes 7 or more AP’s*.

* It is important to understand that not all AP courses are viewed as equal. Although Environmental Science, Psychology, and Statistics are taught for a full year at SAS, they were originally written as semester-long courses and many college admission officers view them as less rigorous than the yearlong courses. AP considers them as semester-length courses in determining AP recognition awards. Admission officers often consider AP Literature to be more rigorous than AP Language.

Completing the Course Request Form

Read the directions on the course request form and begin filling it out by listing the courses you plan to take during the next school year. Please keep the following in mind:

• Your requests are keyed in using course numbers. Be very careful that you list the correct course number along with the course name. The course numbers are included with the course descriptions.
• Be sure that you sign up for the correct number of classes. Ninth and tenth graders must take seven classes each semester; eleventh and twelfth graders between six and seven each semester.
• It is not necessary to indicate in which semester you would like to schedule a semester-long class. Depending on when the class is offered, your other course selections, and the need to balance class sizes, the scheduling software will make that determination. If you have a concern about balancing semesters, please contact your counselor.
• It is not necessary to fill up every line on the course request form. Just be sure that you have the proper number of courses.
• Make certain you list alternates for PE, Health, and any course like SAS Singers or Dance Performance where you will be auditioning. While you will almost certainly get your core courses, some PE and health courses become filled and there may not be seats for younger students. If there is a scheduling conflict, your counselor will meet and discuss your options with you.
• Listen to your teachers and follow their recommendations. If you don’t, you could end up in a course that is either too easy or too difficult. Changing courses in August is not always possible, and if it is, it often requires rearranging your entire schedule.

Submit the Form

Current students should turn in their completed course request form on time. New students should submit a course request form as soon as possible after they have received notice from the SAS admission office of their acceptance. The number of students enrolling at an international school is not predictable and it is possible that more students than expected will enroll, resulting in some courses reaching capacity.

Review Your Schedule

If you are a current SAS student, in May you should receive a copy of the courses that have been scheduled for you for next year. You and your parents should review the list, make corrections if necessary, and sign and return the form. Errors should be resolved at that time, rather than in August.

Schedule Changes

It is very important that you give careful consideration to the courses that you request. Whether or not a course is offered each year is based upon the number of students who request it. More importantly, schedule changes made after the beginning of a course disrupt the educational process and should be avoided. No schedule changes will be made after a new semester begins unless your counselor, teachers, or principal decide the changes are educationally appropriate.

Seniors are usually asked to list their entire senior year academic program when they apply to college. It is therefore important that they remain in their scheduled courses. Changes mid-year, especially if it appears that it is due to a lack of continuing motivation, can reduce a student’s chances of acceptance.