Folsom Lake College offers high school students a chance to take college classes for free through their Advanced Education program. Students at Vista del Lago High School have been taking advantage of these opportunities to expand their skill set or knowledge in a certain academic area of their interest.

According to the Folsom Lake College site for student services, high school students may apply for Advanced Education classes if:

• You have completed the 10th grade or be 16 years old by the first day of instruction;
• You demonstrate exemplary academic achievement as evidenced by a GPA of 2.7 or above, an analysis of transcripts, assessment results, letters of support from high school counselors and teachers and/or other academic success indicators;
• The course you want to take is not available to you at your school;
• The course is not remedial (1-99 classes);
• The course is not being repeated due to an unsatisfactory grade;
• The course is for advanced study and you are able to demonstrate adequate preparation and completed pre-requisites for the course.

Since his freshman year in high school, junior Charles Cao has been taking a music course at Folsom Lake College, participating as a violinist in the Folsom Lake College Youth Chamber Orchestra. “You don’t [have] to know your grades,” said Cao, recommending the course as a good experience for capable string players due to its emphasis on music rather than academic scores.

Cao has also registered for Calculus III this year, a class often taken by students who have previously completed Calculus BC or Calculus II during their high school career. The class starts in the spring of 2018 and is only applicable to students who have passed Calculus II with a grade of “C” or higher.

Cao shared advice to students who plan to take classes at Folsom Lake College during the school year. “Make sure the classes are at nighttime,” Cao said. He also advised to take time management into consideration as the workload can differ depending on the course. “They [take] three hours sometimes,” said Cao in response to the amount of time some courses require inside and outside of class.

For a list of academic courses and their descriptions, visit http://www.flc.losrios.edu/academics.

Last summer, junior Priya Sriram took Social Psychology at Folsom Lake College through the Advanced Education program. “[The class] seemed really interesting, and my friend was taking it, so we went together,” said Sriram.

Taking the class among other high school students like her, Sriram enjoyed the opportunity to learn a new subject with her favorite people. “I liked the experience of going there with my friend,” said Sriram. “The class is interesting, and it was mostly online so that was pretty nice.”

Although the social psychology class took place Monday through Thursday every week, Sriram enjoyed being occupied throughout the summer. “I had something to do that wasn’t just staying at home.”

The demands of a college class may seem daunting, but Sriram found that the workload was not problematic. “There usually isn’t too much homework, so you shouldn’t stress about it,” Sriram said.

In fact, according to Sriram, the hardest part of applying successfully for a college class can be the registration process. “We had to go online…then register and go to [Folsom Lake College] to confirm,” said Sriram. “It was kind of hard to figure out.”

For students considering taking classes at Folsom Lake College, Sriram advised against procrastination for a successful registration. “Make sure that you’re on top of the registration because most of the people missed it, so keep the deadlines straight,” Sriram said.

To register, visit http://www.flc.losrios.edu/student-services/admissions-and-records/apply-and-register/high-school-students.