WEBVTT

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Welcome future juniors. It is officially course 
registration season and believe me this is one of

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the biggest moments in your high school journey. 
So today we are going to break down exactly how

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you can build the perfect schedule for your 
junior year. Turning what feels like a chore

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into a real launchpad for your future. Okay, let's 
just dive right in. I want you to stop thinking of

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this as just picking classes. Instead, think of 
it like you're designing a blueprint. Seriously,

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the choices you make right now are going to help 
shape all the opportunities you have after high

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school. Whether that's college, a specific 
career, or something totally different. So,

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let's make sure it's a strong one. You know, every 
great blueprint starts with some solid prep work.

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You can't just start building without knowing the 
landscape, right? So, first things first, let's

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cover the essential groundwork you absolutely 
have to do before you even think about meeting

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with your counselor. This checklist right here, 
this is your game plan for success. And it's not

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just busy work. I promise. Every single step from 
checking your 4-year plan in Zello to actually

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reading the course catalog is designed to get you 
ready. If you do all this, your meeting with your

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counselor will be super focused, really efficient, 
and you walk out with the schedule you actually

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want. Okay, so once your prep work is done, let's 
look at the actual foundation of your blueprint.

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These are the non-negotiables. We're talking 
about the courses and credits you absolutely

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positively have to get to graduate. This table 
pretty much lays it all out. You've got your

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core subjects like English and math, sure, but 
look closely at that number for electives. 8.5

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credits. That is a huge opportunity to explore 
what you're actually interested in. Whether it's

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art or tech or business, this is where you really 
get to customize your own path. Now, this slide,

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this is super important. There's a big difference 
between what you need to graduate high school and

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what you need to get into a 4-year university. 
They often have higher expectations. A lot of

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them want to see a strong math sequence, and 
they usually recommend at least 2 years of the

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same world language. You've got to keep that in 
mind when you're making your choices if college

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is your goal. And hey, for all you student 
athletes out there, listen up. If you're

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planning to play sports in college at the division 
one or two level, there's a whole other layer of

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requirements. The NCAA has a specific list of 16 
approved core courses that you have to complete

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and you have to get a minimum GPA in them. It's 
really specific. So, if this is you, you have to

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plan your schedule carefully with your counselor 
to make sure you're eligible to play. All right,

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so the foundation is set. Now, we get to the fun 
part. Customizing your blueprint. This is where

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you get to decide what level of challenge is right 
for you, for your goals, and let's be honest,

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for your workload. This chart is absolutely 
key for understanding your GPA. See, regular

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courses are on a 4.0 scale. But if you take an 
honors course, it's weighted on a 4.25 scale.

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And post-secondary classes like AP courses are 
on a 4.5 scale. So, what does that mean? It means

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doing well in those tougher classes can give your 
GPA a really nice boost. And that is something

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colleges definitely notice. And don't forget to 
think outside the traditional classroom. There

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are programs like youth apprenticeship and co-ops 
that let you earn credit while getting actual real

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world work experience. You could even do a sports 
medicine internship or take a specialized online

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course. These are fantastic ways to build up your 
resume and see what careers you might like. Okay,

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so you've got your plan. Let's talk about how 
this all comes together. Now, we're getting into

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the logistics, the official rules of the road 
for building and finalizing your schedule. I

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want you to remember this number, 6.5. That is the 
absolute minimum number of credits you have to be

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signed up for during the school year. There are no 
exceptions to this one. And here's the other magic

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number, nine. This is the absolute maximum number 
of credits you can possibly take in one school

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year. We're talking a full course load, no study 
hall, and probably an early bird class on top of

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that. So, this is where you have to balance your 
workload. If you aim for a 7.0 credit schedule,

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that'll get you a study hall every day. But if 
you load up with 8.0 credits, you won't have a

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study hall at all. It's really a trade-off between 
taking more classes versus having more time to get

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work done during the school day. So, what happens 
if you pick a class and you need to make a change?

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Well, you have a really short window. You can add 
a class within the first 6 days of a semester,

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but you've got up to four weeks to drop 
one without it hurting you. After that,

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changes are only made for very, very specific 
reasons. Okay, this is the rule you really need

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to hear. If you drop a class after that four-week 
deadline and it's not for an approved reason,

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you will get an F on your transcript for that 
class. That's going to hit your GPA hard. So,

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it's so important to choose your courses 
wisely right from the start to avoid this whole

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situation. You are almost there. I promise. You've 
done the research. You know the rules. Let's just

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cover the final actions you need to take to 
lock in that amazing junior year blueprint.

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Please walk into your registration meeting 
prepared. Have your course planning guide

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completely filled out. And this is so important. 
Have at least three alternate elective courses

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picked out. Popular classes fill up fast. And 
you need to have backups ready to go. The good

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news is you're not doing this all by yourself. 
You're going to finalize everything and enter

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your courses into Skyward in a small group. 
And your school counselor will be right there

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with you to guide you and answer any of those 
last minute questions you have. The bottom line

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here is that it's your responsibility to 
know when and where your meeting is. So,

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check your school email. Check the list that's 
posted outside the counseling office. Just make

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sure you do not miss your slot. And that's really 
it. Your schedule, it's not just a list of classes

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for next year. It's the foundation for your 
senior year, for your college applications,

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and for exploring what you might want to do 
with your life. You are the architect here. So,

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take the time, do the work, and build something 
amazing. What will your blueprint build?