It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and I’m not talking about the winter holiday season.  Every March, students from all over the school rush to select their courses in hopes that they will get every class on their lists for the next academic year. Although it must be expected that one will not get into every course requested and things generally work out, the process of course selection at Algonquin leaves something to be desired.

From my understanding, the most important factor when guidance decides who gets into a non- required course with a lot of demand is seniority.  Although I think that is a factor that should be considered,  I believe that the most important aspect guidance should consider is merit.

Using academic and extracurricular merit, such as a high GPA and demonstrated dedication in extracurricular activities as a primary factor in course selection, would reward those who have worked particularly hard as underclassmen.  I often hear seniors gripe about how they should have worked harder and been more involved as freshmen. A course selection policy such as one that I have suggested would encourage all underclassmen to be be more diligent and well-rounded, and would prompt students to self advocate for placement in a particular course.

The greatest personal dissatisfaction I have had with my schedule, came junior year when I signed up to take AP Environmental Science. Even at that point, I knew that it was a subject I would want to study and probably major in during college.  Considering that I had performed well in my core science courses, was ranked 14 in my class at the time, and knew a Junior who had taken the course, I assumed that getting into the class would not be an issue.  Unfortunately, I was incorrect in my assumption and did not get into the course because it was filled with seniors, many of whom did not have as great of an interest in environmental science as I did.

Since there was no availability in my second choice, AP Biology, I decided against taking an AP course that year.  I regret the decision.  I feel that if I had taken at least one AP course junior year, such as AP World History, I may have learned more, it may have made my college transcript stronger, and I would not feel like I missed out on an opportunity to gain college credit.

I realize that guidance may not be able to incorporate a merit-based policy like I have suggested, and administration may not be able to provide more spots in popular courses.  Students, however, should be provided with better information on their odds of getting into particular courses and encouraged to enroll in another AP course if one they select is unavailable.

Author’s Note: When I wrote this article, I was not in the best state of mind. Towards the end of my senior year, I was going through a difficult time and was wait-listed at my top college choice. I had wanted to take AP Environmental junior year but couldn’t enroll due to high senior demand. I thought little of the matter, since I enjoyed my classes junior year, until I received news from colleges. I felt frustrated because I thought that if I had taken an AP course junior year, I may have been accepted instead of placed on the wait-list. I didn’t want anybody else to feel how I did then, coming so close but thinking that they could have done more. I now realize that Algonquin does not need a merit-based course selection policy. There are many interesting courses to take, guidance does a good job of placing students in the electives they signed up for, and a merit-based policy might cause more harm than good. I could have chosen to enroll in a different AP class junior year, but decided not to. In this article, I blame the potential consequence of my own decision on a system that is not broken, and for that I am sorry.