Darby Waters

BSM’s many class options leave students stressed and confused about course selection.

As Red Knights approach the end of the 3rd quarter, course selection for the 2025 – 2026 school year begins, leaving some students confused and stressed. Benilde-St. Margaret’s offers an exciting variety of core class options and electives, ensuring every student finds a class they are interested in. However, these class options and opportunities can lead to overwhelming and chaotic feelings.

Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have to meet with their counselors to decide what courses to take next year. Current juniors have an added element to think about: what courses will stand out on their college applications. Especially with the variety of opportunities at BSM, students have difficulty deciding the best classes to enhance their transcript when applying to colleges. Some students feel that if they don’t take an AP or honors class, it will make their resume seem weaker when compared to their peers. Moreover, the stress of deciding what major or career path to pursue in college heavily influences this decision. This adds significant stress and discomfort to students’ minds because not only do they have to focus on their current classes, but they also have to consider their future college plans and career choices. “It’s more than choosing what class you want to take and how you plan your future. It’s become more. How do I choose the classes that would help me get into ABC College?” junior Kate Meyer said.

Furthermore, starting in the 2025 – 2026 school year, the BSM administration decided to remove the required physics credit to graduate. In past years, students had to complete a full year of biology, chemistry, and physics throughout their high school career to meet graduation expectations. Many students are conflicted about deciding to take regular physics, AP physics, another science elective, or not even taking a science class. This confusion comes from the elimination of the physics requirement. “It makes it kind of difficult because I want to take an AP science, and I’m not sure if I want to because I don’t know how much I’ll need it [since it isn’t a requirement anymore],” sophomore Grant Lockman said.

When searching for information about a certain class, many students look to older siblings, friends, or upperclassmen for their opinions. Sometimes, it is difficult to gather general thoughts or the benefits of a particular class when the only perspective most students hear is the teacher’s opinion. Students want to hear the direct opinions of other students to make a final decision. Hearing a student’s opinion can help them learn how difficult the workload of a particular class is, the positives and negatives of a class, and more. “I’m going to get a more straightforward answer from a student than a teacher because the teachers are just going to say the syllabus. But a student is going to tell you exactly what’s happening and how it affects students,” Meyer said.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s, a college preparatory school, encourages students to enroll in AP or honors classes to be better prepared for college. However, this encouragement turns into pressure for many students who feel forced to overload their schedules with numerous rigorous courses. However, within this chaos of course selection, some students look for ways to balance their classes to be the most academically successful. “I’m taking a lot of AP classes next year…and I’ve got easier classes in my schedule too. It’s all about figuring out how I can balance out what’ll be too much for me,” junior Addison Buhl said.