Some students don’t know much about graduation credit requirements and how to be prepared for graduation.

The amount of credits you need to graduate is 24.5 credits. That’s the minimum to graduate from MHS and other SVVSD schools.

Four credits of English is a requirement, but only three credits of science, math, and social studies are needed to graduate.

Counselor Ms. Maura Brady-McMullen said, “I definitely recommend that all students take all four years of core classes.”

There are many options provided in all of the core subjects, as well as other subjects. There are AP classes in many subjects, honors classes, and regular grade level courses.

Even though three credits of math are technically required for graduation, a fourth math credit is recommended if students are interested in attending college.

“We really recommend four years of math… for college placement,” said Ms. Brady-McMullen.

Statistics or AP statistics are great opinions for seniors looking to take a fourth math course. Ms. Brady-McMullen said, “Almost every degree program requires a statistics class.”

Two credits of PE (physical education) are also required. A waiver counts for 1 PE credit if you’re involved in sports on a team.

0.5 credits (one semester) of health, fine arts (music, drawing, art, ceramics, theater, etc.), practical arts (business, computer science, family and computer sciences, etc.), and personal finance and literacy are all required. Personal finance and personal finance literary both count towards the last category.

7.5 credits of general elective classes are required for graduation. This category holds any overflow credits in any of the other categories.

Something that isn’t a graduation requirement is foreign language. “Foreign language isn’t a graduation requirement, however it looks better on your transcript,” commented Ms. Brady-McMullen.

To get into some of the higher end colleges, Ivy League and otherwise, having more than the minimum of credits will better your transcript. As far as extra curricular activities and credits go, more involvement will generally help you get a spot in a prestigious college or university.

There are plenty of colleges that don’t look for extra credits. However, it’s best to have a balanced transcript.

Community college (AIMS, FRCC, and others) is also a great option if you’re worried about the expense of college.

If a student fails a class, they can take E-credit, and there is an online course for the student to make up for the missing credit(s). Ms. Brady-McMullen said that students who failed a course can take an online class as E-credit recovery or through BYU Independent Study. For fee information, talk to your counselor.