If there’s one benefit from online learning compared to in-person learning, it’s that many people have become more tech-savvy from it. Fortunately, a wide range of free online resources happen to be available that include courses to strengthen areas of personal interest. High school students can especially benefit from SAT prep, learning life skills they’ll need in upcoming years or even getting ahead academically. 

SAT Prep – Khan Academy

The SAT is something many high school students have kept in the back of their minds, and it’s something many students also stress about. Although many schools have gone test-optional this year, future classes may still need to submit their test scores. While some students have SAT prep books or tutors, there are a multitude of online resources available to help students at no cost. Even if some students won’t need to study for the SAT, these resources can be a great refresher of the knowledge learned during high school. Khan Academy provides a free, online SAT Test Prep course, which can be personalized to help a student’s specific weaknesses. 

Students can connect their CollegeBoard account to Khan Academy so their PSAT answers and scores can be inputted into the system for customized practices. These practices are designed to help specifically the sections which could grow. 

Khan Academy also allows students to select the date of their SAT exam on a calendar, helping them schedule their practices to be ready before the time comes. Students are able to choose what days they wish to practice in a week, and for how long. 

In the practices, if a student chooses the wrong answer, there are explanations and videos to provide more assistance. In addition, Khan Academy allows students to take practice tests that CollegeBoard has written exclusively for Khan Academy.

Life Skills 

Life after high school is much different than life as a high school student. Many college students sometimes find that adjusting to the new tasks given to them as adults can be overwhelming. Not many high schoolers start learning about how to file taxes, build credit to buy an apartment or learn about investing before adulthood. Luckily, high school is a perfect time for students to become knowledgeable on these topics so that they have a head start in life, and there are many free online resources out there to utilize for that.

Udemy: “Personal Finance 101: Everything You Need to Know” 

Udemy’s Personal Finance 101 course covers a variety of topics through online videos. Many topics are covered in this course such as credit, debt, student loans, tax returns, bank accounts, credit cards, retirement plans, buying an apartment or a car, and managing finances. All the videos added up are a total of three hours, so this course is a great starter guide to a variety of topics.

Khan Academy: “Finance and capital markets” 

Khan Academy is filled with many videos for all sorts of topics. In their “Finance and capital markets” category, the topics they teach range from buying a house to investing in the stock market to starting a retirement account.

Starting off, their “Interest and debt” category discusses credit cards, interest, present value, and personal bankruptcy. It’s a good introduction to the lessons on finance Khan Academy provides. 

After this lesson, their “Housing” category discusses home equity and personal balance sheets, renting and buying a home, and mortgages. To many people, one of the biggest investments of their life will be a home, so becoming educated on the process at an early age will become valuable in the future. 

 In addition, they have a category called “Investment vehicles, insurance, and retirement”, where topics such as retirement accounts (IRAs and 401ks), life insurance, hedge funds, and investment and consumption are discussed. Planning for retirement early on — as early as turning 18 — could be extremely rewarding. 

Next up in the lessons is their “Taxes” category. Here, personal taxes and corporate taxation are explained. Taxes are a big part of adult life, something that can be confusing to many, so it’s good for high school students to prepare beforehand and begin to be educated on what to expect. 

Following taxes, their “Accounting and financial statements” category talks about cash versus accrual accounting, three core financial statements, and depreciation and amortization. Accounting is important to companies and businesses, another thing a handful of students may run into in the future.

Khan Academy also has videos about investing. Their “Stocks and bonds” category discusses what stocks are, shorting stock, company statements and capital structure, corporate metrics and valuation, stock dilution, bonds, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate bankruptcy. Knowing about how to invest in the stock market can change a person’s life, and high school is a wonderful time to start learning about it. 

Moreover, their “Money, banking and central banks” category discusses banking and money, quantitative easing, foreign exchange and trade, and Bitcoin. Bitcoin may also be valuable to become knowledgeable in.

Concurrent Enrollment (as of September 24, 2020) – note: not all college classes are completely online

Concurrent enrollment is something to consider for all kinds of students who want to advance their knowledge in the interests they have, from academic interests to a hobby they want to develop. While in high school, students can enroll in college-level classes at the same time. This is called concurrent enrollment, and it can be valuable for Carlsbad high school students to utilize since they can take up to 11 credits for free (fees such as textbooks and health fees aren’t paid for, however.) 

Specific information on how Sage Creek does concurrent enrollment can be found on the school website. Because of the current pandemic, many of these classes are online for the most part. On the positive side, that may make taking a college class easier in terms of it fitting into a schedule better.

Counseling department chair Megan Corazza recommends taking courses that students are interested in or passionate about. She also believes that Counseling 100 and Counseling 101 from Mira Costa College are great courses to prepare for college with. Counseling 100 is a course that helps students get used to the college environment by teaching them organizational plans and what kind of resources exist. Counseling 101 is about identifying majors and investigating different options that are aligned with those interests.

“Research has shown that when students are exposed to college-level rigor in high school, they’re more likely to persist and do better in college,” Corazza said. “For me, the more classes students can take at community college, the better.” 

She says that 4-year colleges love community college courses on student records because it’s a true college curriculum being taught by a college professor.

Steps for concurrent enrollment:

First off, complete the CUSD Off Campus Course Permission Request form (previously it was a document, but currently it is a google survey to accommodate for online school).

Once the off-campus form has been filled out and submitted, apply to the college that provides the course you’re interested in (MCC application, Palomar College application). Don’t apply for the course, yet, as the student will get an email with their Surf ID number (MCC) or Student ID number (Palomar) to complete enrollment. 

After submitting the application to the college, read and complete the specific Community College Concurrent Enrollment/Special Admissions form and turn it in. Mira Costa has a Concurrent Enrollment permit request, which is an online survey to facilitate the online enrollment process. It doesn’t require paper signatures. 

Palomar College has a Special Admission Approval form, which is a pdf that needs to be filled out. Once filled out, the student should email their counselor the completed form for them to fill out and then submit the completed paperwork to the appropriate contact at Palomar.

After the concurrent enrollment/special admissions form has been completed and submitted, students can register for classes during the specified enrollment period. (Students interested in Mira Costa can enroll starting on June 8 for Summer and August 10 for Fall). Once the class has been completed, students are responsible for submitting a transcript to the SCHS Registrar.