High School Graduation Requirements

Especially during your junior and senior years, you can often choose courses that will help prepare you for your future career. You don’t have to know exactly what college major you will choose, but taking the classes in your academic interest area will give you a good foundation to build upon in college. For instance, if you are considering nursing, you could take anatomy, physiology or statistics – courses often necessary for a nursing degree. If you like engineering, take math and sciences classes. Explore career and technical education courses offered right at your school to connect academics and career preparation.

Don’t miss the opportunity to align your course choices with scholarship opportunities! For instance, you can earn up to $7,500 (over four years) through the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship, but you need to take the right courses to be eligible. This is a win-win because not only will taking these courses set you up with a strong academic foundation for college, but they could also help you pay for college.

Take advantage of opportunities to fulfill high school graduation requirements while getting a head start on college.

• College Readiness Coursework is coursework that specifically supports high school students with academic preparation so they can avoid developmental coursework in college.
• High School Dual Credit (HSDC) courses give high school students who meet admissions standards the opportunity to simultaneously earn credits for both their high school diploma and college degree or certificate.