By Tomar Clark
As January approaches and course selection sheets are distributed to Poly students in grades 9-11, many find themselves making critical academic decisions with minimal information about what awaits them in the classroom. From Advanced Placement courses to specialized electives like Forensics and Matter & Energy, the lack of detailed descriptions may be creating unnecessary stress and contributing to a cycle of course-switching that affects students and counselors alike.
Student Experiences
I interviewed a student from each grade level, starting with Senior Sydney Cottmen. When selecting Art as an elective last spring, Cottmen had little information beyond the course title and secondhand accounts from peers. The course selection sheet provided only course names—nothing about content, expectations, or teaching methods. Once classes began, she discovered a significant gap between her expectations and reality. “Well, no, not really, I only heard about it from other students and the name sounded interesting,” she explained about her decision-making process. The course proved to focus heavily on technical work and art history rather than the creative projects and drawing she had anticipated.
Her experience isn’t unique. MiNiyah R., a sophomore, had signed up for the elective class Art. When asked about their expectations before the course began, they replied, “I picked it because it sounded easy, honestly. I didn’t know anything about what we’d actually be doing.”
The reality proved different from their assumptions. “There’s way more reading and writing than I expected. If I had known it was like this, I probably would’ve chosen something else,” they admitted. Like Cottmen, this student made their decision based purely on the course title and secondhand information from peers.
Ahmed L., a junior, had signed up for Vector Mechanics. Their experience echoed similar frustrations. “I was interested in the topic, but I had no idea about the teacher’s expectations or the workload,” they explained. “So many seniors have told me how difficult it is, but there’s no official information about what makes it challenging or how to prepare.”
When asked what would have been helpful during course selection, they suggested, “Even just a few sentences about what a typical class looks like, or what kind of assignments we’d be doing. Anything would’ve been better than just the name.”
The Counselor’s Perspective
According to Twayna Sellers, the current leader of the counseling department at Baltimore Polytechnic, the current course selection process follows a structured timeline but lacks detailed course information. In December and January, students receive classroom guidance lessons tailored to their grade level. Ninth graders learn about different Poly programs and sophomore course options. Sophomores explore electives and fine arts offerings. Juniors receive guidance on choosing between science and engineering tracks. Following these lessons, the counseling office prepares individualized course selection sheets that include recommended course levels and are color-coded by grade. Students receive these sheets in January with a one-week turnaround time for submission. Once returned, counselors enter the data—a process that takes considerable time and effort.
When asked about the most common questions students ask that aren’t answered on course sheets, Sellers identified three recurring concerns: “Is this class hard? Who teaches this class? Is there a lot of work?” These questions reveal a significant gap in the information provided to students during the critical decision-making period. The counselor also confirmed what students suspected: course-switching is a widespread issue. “Yes! Students want to take multiple AP classes. After school starts and they see how much work is involved, they want to downgrade,” Sellers explained. She estimates that approximately 20% of students submit class change requests in the first few weeks of school.
Specific courses generate more confusion than others. Students frequently ask about Vector Mechanics, Matter & Energy, and Engineering Practicum—courses where the content and expectations aren’t immediately clear from their titles alone. AP Chemistry has one of the highest drop rates, with students realizing only after the first week how challenging the course is. When asked what information would be most helpful for students, Sellers suggested, “It would be helpful for students to know who is teaching the courses and possibly have a sample syllabus.” She acknowledged that the current system requires counselors to spend up to a full class period explaining courses and the selection process. “We usually tell students to speak to the teacher of the course for a more detailed description. If students had access to a document listing every course, that would make the process a little easier.”
Looking Forward
Both students and staff see potential improvements to the current system. Multiple students suggested that they would benefit from course previews, detailed descriptions, or even sample syllabi. Counselors also mentioned that detailed descriptions would save them hours of explanation time during the busy selection period. Creating more comprehensive course information would require collaboration between teachers and the counseling department. As Sellers noted, “The person teaching the course would need to provide a detailed course description and then provide it to the counseling department.”
As our school prepares for another course selection cycle this spring, students and staff alike hope that future classes won’t face the same uncertainty. Until then, students continue to navigate their academic futures with limited guidance, making choices that will shape their high school experiences based on little more than course titles and word-of-mouth recommendations.
