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6. The administration and the school counseling department cannot foresee any reason for a schedule
change once the program has been approved by the parents and the school. Requests for changes
after original choices are made and approved will be considered on an individual basis with a
th.
conference among the people concerned up until May 10 . Students accept responsibility for their
course selections and will maintain these schedules without changes. Therefore, select courses
carefully!

7. Colleges use certain criteria in determining the admissibility of applicants. Students who are planning
to continue their education at the college level should consider the following.

• High School Record — This includes an evaluation of the number of academic units which a student
has completed, the levels of the academic units, and the grades earned. All of this is combined to
determine each student’s grade point average and class rank.

• Testing Information — This includes the SAT I: Reasoning Tests, SAT II: Subject Tests, and/or the
American College Testing (ACT) program and possibly the Advanced Placement Examinations and
PARCC.

• Recommendations — This includes recommendations submitted by the student’s counselor and,
when requested, classroom teachers.

• Non-Academic Activities — This includes the number of activities, the level of involvement, and
the projected contribution to the college in non-academic areas.

8. In the academic areas, there are many variations of courses which a student may select. It should be
noted that many colleges expect students to have completed at least 16 academic units in high
school. Students should refer to the requirements of their particular college(s) of interest. One
academic unit refers to any five credit course in English, Social Studies, Mathematics, Biological and
Physical Sciences, and World Languages.

9. Advanced Placement (AP) Courses
South Plainfield High School offers a wide variety of Advanced Placement courses in the various
disciplines. Advanced Placement (AP) courses are college level courses offered to students who want
to experience the rigors of college work, while still in high school. An outstanding academic record is
considered one prerequisite for selection. Students should consult with their counselor prior to
requesting placement in an AP course. Although not required, all students who are selected and who
take an AP course(s) are strongly encouraged to take the AP Exam for that course in May. Students
who successfully complete an AP course will earn high school credit, and may have the opportunity to
receive college credit, with a minimum qualifying score for each AP exam (varies), based on each
individual college’s requirements (varies). Completion of a summer assignment is generally expected
for all AP courses. Instructions are available from the AP teacher the previous May, and assignments
can be found on the high school website.

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