As the 2025-2026 school year approaches, students are being tasked with planning their classes for the next year. With a variety of class options it’s easy to be overwhelmed with the task.
A senior with four years of practice has some advice to share with students struggling.
“When choosing your classes next year, it’s always important to keep your interests in mind,” senior Kendrew Tu said. “but also leaving time for yourself such as extracurriculars like sports and clubs.”
It’s very important for students to keep their limitations in mind, and not overwhelm or overwork themselves.
“I think that workload would be an Important factor, you don’t want to overwhelm yourself and you don’t know that you’ve overwhelmed yourself often until you’ve done it.” AP Language teacher Christopher Works said. “So you have to foresee where you’re going and realize your limitations. I know everybody wants that high GPA, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of your mental health.”
Another factor students may consider when selecting classes, is the effect on more than just their GPA, but their social life.
“I do think that my class schedule affects my social life and friendships,” sophomore Tessa Krueger said. “I think the proximity of sitting with someone for at least an hour and a half multiple times a week is a great way to build strong friendships with people and improve your social life.”
This leads some students to consider who they want as their classmates when planning their schedules.
“A big part of school for me is my friends and I love when I have classes with them,” Junior Izma Munawar said. “I’m planning on taking AV Production 2 with a friend of mine next year.”
While it might seem compelling, others believe friends should not be involved in students’ schedule choices.
“I think it’s easy to consider what your friends are doing because you want to be in the same class as them,” Senior Simon O’Hare said. “But you should follow what you like and the odds are against your favor to be getting in the same class.”
Others believe it’s the friends whom the students surround themselves with that’s important.
“Choose friends who want to see you succeed, who want to see you achieve and surround yourself with those people,” Works Said. “The ones who are bringing you down, even unintentionally, who take up your time with things that aren’t necessarily beneficial to you. You might want to minimize it.”
A big part of the planning process is the school counselors.
“I usually follow my school counselor’s advice when planning my schedule because I know that most of the counselor’s have been doing this a long time and know what will work best for most students.” Krueger said.
At the end of the day the most important thing is the students happiness.
“Think about what would bring you the most enjoyment throughout your year.” O’Hare said.
