FORT LEE HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS OF STUDY

COLLEGE PREPARATORY PROGRAM should be elected by every student who has an interest in entering college and has the necessary aptitude for college preparatory work. Financial limitations should not interfere with educational planning. Since the subjects required for entrance vary for different colleges, a student should decide as early as possible which college he or she desires to enter.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM is geared to help students who are preparing to enter college as well as those seeking employment immediately after graduation. All students will receive instruction in computer applications in our computer lab. The goal of the Business Technology Department is to prepare students for post high school technical institutes and training schools as well as to provide some experience designed to assist students in obtaining their first job.

FINE ARTS offers a wide choice of electives to meet the special needs and plans of individual students interested in art, music and theater. Students with these interests are urged to speak with their guidance counselors and fine arts teachers individually.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES: The Advanced Placement (AP) Program is an opportunity for students to pursue college-level studies while still in secondary school and to receive advanced placement, credit, or both in college. All students who meet AP eligibility standards and register for AP courses must consistently maintain a “C” average or better.

THE HONORS PROGRAM is an opportunity to pursue accelerated courses in secondary school. All students who meet Honors eligibility standards and register for Honors courses must consistently maintain a “C” average or better.

THE ACADEMY OF FINANCE PROGRAM (Course descriptions under Business) is acompetitive program for 10th, 11th and 12th graders which will prepare them for post-secondary education and careers through academic learning and hands-on work experiences. The students will be exposed to broad career opportunities in the financial services industry. Each student must complete a six-to-eight week paid summer internship between junior and senior year.

Upon completion of the Academy of Finance Program, the student will receive a “Certificate of Financial Studies.”

TEEN PEP is a full-year senior health course (taken in place of 12th grade Physical Education/Family Life), which focuses on teen sexual health issues. Students are trained as peer educators and conduct outreach workshops for the school and the community addressing topics such as STIs, HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, homophobia and dating violence. Students interested in taking this course must submit an application (early in the 3rd marking period) following a Teen PEP assembly presented to juniors. They will then participate in two interviews with the Teen PEP advisors. Students will be selected based on their applications, performance in the interviews, as well as by faculty evaluations.

COLLEGE APPLICATION

Colleges or universities generally expect students to have completed a minimum of four years of English, three years of math, three years of science, two years of World Language, and three years of social studies. Numbers and course requisites vary from school to school.

Most colleges require candidates for admission to take the tests given by the College Entrance

Examination Board (C.E.E.B.). For the candidate to receive the most favorable consideration by a

college, it is desirable that these tests be taken according to the following schedule: Preliminary

Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in October and the SAT or ACT Test in the spring of the student's junior year and the SAT or ACT Test in the senior year.

SAT II Tests, required by competitive colleges or universities, should be taken following the specific course. Students who will complete their study of a foreign language in the junior year and plan to offer this language for compliance with the C.E.E.B. requirements of the college or colleges of the student's choice should take the SAT II Test in this subject in June of the student's junior year. Students who plan to take Biology or Chemistry for compliance with the C.E.E.B. requirements of the college or colleges of the student's choice should take the SAT II Test in this subject in June of the school year in which the subject is completed. Students who are taking an accelerated program in high school with the intention of achieving early graduation should consult their guidance counselor with regard to the best time for their taking the C.E.E.B. Tests.

All students should assume responsibility for carefully checking the specific C.E.E.B. Test requirements of the college or colleges of the student's choice by inspection of the current catalog of each of those colleges so that the student may comply with all of these specific test requirements. A student should check these test requirements because these test requirements are often changed by colleges. Guidance counselors will aid students in interpreting any college catalog information about which the student has questions. The Scholastic Assessment Test is the most commonly required test, although some colleges additionally require three SAT II tests. Some colleges require the ACT. For information about this and other tests, students should consult their guidance counselor.

For the most favorable consideration by a college, an application for admission usually should be submitted to the college early in a student’s senior year. Since great care must be exercised in completing the application form, it is recommended that the student obtain the application form from the college by the end of the junior year or early in the senior year.

If a student applies to only one college and then learns in the late spring or summer that he has not been accepted, it is often too late for favorable consideration by another college of the student's choice.

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

Applications for college scholarships should be submitted to the college at the time of submitting the application for admission or very soon thereafter. Most colleges require a student applying for a scholarship to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). These forms are available in the Guidance Office along with general information on a wide variety of scholarships from private and government sources. Students should also check the Guidance Department bulletin boards for scholarship information including locally sponsored scholarships. The FAFSA cannot be filed until after January 1.