As February approaches and students at LHS begin picking their classes for the 25-26 school year, many are left wondering what are the best classes to take? Here I have compiled a list of the best classes for every incoming class to take, based on my experiences and the experiences of my peers. This is just my opinion and the opinion of those I interviewed, so I would encourage you to reach out to your guidance counselor if you are looking for a professional opinion.
Incoming Freshmen
My freshman year was probably the worst year for my grades and classes, I came in totally unprepared. If I could turn back time I would have taken all honors classes except for history, that is my recommendation for moderate to high-achieving students. And if you happen to be a history fanatic, I recommend honors history, but in my experience that is one of the hardest classes I have ever taken. I recommend honors English for anyone looking for a good writing foundation. Mrs. Masse is one the best teachers I have ever had and her honors English class is one I look back on often, as it was just so completely legendarily great. This course load—assuming you have all b’s and above—will earn you a pretty good GPA and class rank. All you have to do Freshman year to succeed and have a good foundation for yourself, is to do your work and study.
Junior Allison Lewis says, “You will be absolutely fine your freshman year if you commit yourself to doing your work.”
If you are a student who just wants to pass by with decent grades, I recommend the all-standard classes route, with maybe one or two honors depending on your strengths.
In terms of electives, I recommend Art Exploratory for everyone, since it is the prerequisite for every other art class, and Food 101 because it’s just fun. Freshman year is a year to acclimate to high school, figure things out, and get average grades. With these courses, you will fulfill your elective credit requirements and can have a dlt in place of your elective for the next three years of high school.
Incoming Sophomores
My sophomore year was one long year of locking in. I personally took all honors besides geometry and my electives, and it prepared me for the AP classes I am now taking. If you are a highly motivated student, the all-honors route is the best to take, but if you want to opt for an easier course load, I recommend at least taking an honors language class. They are fairly easy and will boost your GPA a bit, if you, of course, do your work. In terms of specific classes, I really enjoyed taking Honors World History/AP US History taught by Mr. Bly, who is one of my all-time favorite teachers. I found the class super engaing and I learned a lot. Another class many will take during their Sophomore year is Algebra II. I am currently taking Honors Algebra II, and while I’m passing by just fine, MANY of my classmates who took this class had a very hard time, so if you are just okay at math maybe take standard Algebra II.
Junior Maddie Mathias who took Honors Algebra II last year says, “It is a very challenging class, but it is a good opportunity to push yourself.”
This is also the year you want to start thinking about your college major and future career path. This does not have to be what you actually want to do, but a general idea of what field you want to enter is helpful. For example, if you want to go into STEM, take Honors Chemistry and Honors Algebra II.
In terms of electives, most sophomores cannot take AP electives like AP drawing or AP Computer Science, so this is, in my opinion, the year for fun electives or just a dlt. I took photography my sophomore year and it was very fun, I really enjoyed being able to go on photoshoots and being creative through a new medium. Some of my friends also enjoyed taking International Foods. Both of those require a prerequisite of Art Exploratory and Food 101 respectively. If you haven’t taken those yet, that is what I recommend. And if your elective credit requirement is already fulfilled and you don’t want a class you can take a dlt.
Incoming Juniors
I am currently a Junior, so I cannot paint the full picture of the best classes, but I do have some recommendations so far. I highly recommend AP Lang for anyone and everyone. It has benefited me in every other class I’m taking and improved my writing significantly.
A class this year I have really struggled with has been AP Chemistry, which I recommend if you already have a good grasp of sophomore year chemistry. If you are like me and passed by not really knowing what is going on, don’t take AP Chemistry, it will be the bane of your existence, trust me. Mrs. Valentine is an amazing teacher though, I just do not have a chemistry brain.
Another class I really recommend is AP US History or APUSH. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “APUSH me off a cliff,” and honestly sometimes yes, but APUSH really isn’t that hard if you do your notes. I strongly recommend taking AP Lang and APUSH in conjunction with one another, as the writing for both classes is very similar and I find they bounce off each other often.
If you don’t want to take the AP route, I’ve heard good things about Honors American Literature taught by Mr. Woodman. With many enjoying the book selection. Another honors class I’ve had my friends take and enjoy is Honors US History. Junior Liana Chaves says that the class is “fun and Mrs. Zianio is a good teacher when it comes to both teaching and understanding.” Another class many incoming Juniors might be considering is Honors Anatomy, which to me seems very interesting, however, I have heard it is a lot of memorization, so if that isn’t your strong suit I recommend against it.
Like I said before if you want to take an easier route, I recommend taking majority standard classes with a few honors classes sprinkled in depending on your strengths.
This year I decided to take AP Drawing for my elective and I cannot recommend it enough; for artists of course. If you are interested in art and enjoy making art I recommend you take either AP 2D Art or AP Drawing. This class, at least for me, is a nice class to have where you just make art and chill, with the occasional research session and critique. Other than that, I know junior year is when a lot double up on science classes or take a dlt. Another class you can take as a junior is an online VHS, or Virtual High School class, which you get a dlt period for. I took AP Seminar this year at home, and while AP Seminar has been very tedious and stressful for me, most who take VHS classes are doing well and can balance it on top of their in person classes.
Incoming Seniors
Since I am technically an incoming senior I cannot recommend any senior classes, but I have talked with some seniors and here are the classes they recommend:
Jack Favata recommends AP Government saying, “I was shocked by the amount of content I was already knowledgeable about and found the dynamic of how relevant, modern politics plays into the historical systems created by the founders.”
Joe Keroack enthuses about AP Physics stating, “It’s one of the few classes which teaches you to think and apply learning.” Junior Amanda Miller who is currently taking physics co-signs Keroack’s recommendation saying, “I’m in honors and I like it.”
Final Thoughts
This goes for everyone when I say do not push yourself too hard for the sake of your GPA or class rank. Me saying that is completely hypocritical, but if you push yourself too hard you will burn out and honestly it’s not worth it. So just take classes you are comfortable with, rather than taking all the hardest classes for the sake of it.