High School Guidance

College admissions are increasingly competitive, so it's very important that students and parents are proactive in obtaining information and pursuing opportunities. Hernando Christian Academy seeks to partner with families in order to help students and parents negotiate the college admissions process and make sense of the sometimes overwhelming information with which students and parents are inundated. While the responsibilities of gathering information and completing applications is ultimately that of the individual student, HCA strives to assist as much as possible in facilitating the process of finding the colleges and universities which best meet the academic, social, spiritual and financial needs of each student.

The process begins at the end of the eighth grade year when rising ninth graders are advised on the types of courses that will best meet the students' while moving them towards their post-secondary school goals.

Throughout ninth and tenth grade, students are advised regarding their course options, and those students who have the intellectual and scholastic abilities to succeed in more challenging classes and the academic aspirations to make these classes highly desirable will be charted into HCA's honors and Advanced Placement courses.

HCA requires all ninth graders to take the EXPLORE test and all tenth graders to take the PLAN test. Both tests are pre-ACT exams which provide students and families with valuable information about how they are moving along their courses towards post-secondary goals. Additionally, the ACT company provides an estimate based on EXPLORE or PLAN scores of how students will perform on the ACT college admissions exam.

The test results are distributed at the end of the first semester, providing an excellent opportunity for families to engage in meaningful and purposeful dialogue about college plans. It's advisable at this point to begin exploring different schools' websites and encouraging students to list schools which have the academic programs that will enable them to move into their desired career fields.

College admissions planning begins in earnest during the eleventh grade year when students take the PSAT exam in October. Students are encouraged to take the SAT and ACT exams in the late spring of their junior year. Students will also meet with their advisor during the spring of their junior year in order to begin planning out their strategies for college admissions.

We strongly encourage families to take time during the summer between students' junior and senior year to visit several colleges and universities of interest.

The senior year is the culmination of the college readiness process. As students complete their high school requirements, round out their transcripts with AP and honors courses and take their SAT and ACT exam again if necessary, they also begin negotiating the actual application process. The high school English faculty ensures that each student has an application essay completed, and all faculty and administrative team members spend time crafting letters of recommendation for the members of our senior class.

Since HCA is a college preparatory school, it is assumed that all of our graduates will be attending college. HCA's college counseling program will provide students with basic information and facilitate decisions on course registration at the high school level. We will also disseminate information regarding any scholarship opportunities that may be applicable for specific students or student groups. Our college counseling program is, however, simply one of many resources which students and parents should take advantage of throughout the college application process.

The process of finding schools of interest, identifying scholarship or other funding opportunities and ultimately selecting a college or university is a highly personal one. Therefore, students and families must assume the responsibility of engaging in this process and determining the college or university which best meets their individual needs.

Other available resources include:

http://www.collegeboard.com

http://www.act.org

http://fastweb.com

http://MyFloridaEducation.com/brfuture

http://studentaid.ed.gov

http://fafsa.ed.gov

Hernando Christian Academy Dual Enrollment Policies

Hernando Christian Academy recognizes that some students may want to expand their options for educational opportunities by taking advantage of Pasco-Hernando Community College’s Dual-Enrollment program. Students may take any classes PHCC offers on their own. However, HCA does not allow students to earn credit for all PHCC courses. HCA guidelines for dual-enrollment students are as follows:

1) Students may only be dually enrolled during their junior or senior year of high school.

2) Students are limited to a maximum of twelve (12) dual enrollment credits. Only grades of C or better will be awarded dual credit with HCA.

3) Students will receive a 0.5 credit boost for dual enrollment courses.

4) Parents and students are strongly encouraged to contact the college or university to which the student hopes to matriculate upon graduation from HCA to review that specific school’s policy regarding dual enrollment credit. Many colleges and universities look unfavorably on dual enrollment credits during the admissions process, and many colleges and universities do not transfer dual enrollment credits or only do so in a very limited way. HCA accepts no responsibility for if and how dual enrollment credits are received by colleges and universities.

5) Students will only be eligible for HCA credit for the courses listed below.

Humanities
HUM 1020 – Introduction to Humanities
HUM 2211 – Humanities: The Ancient World to the Middle Ages
HUM 2230 – Humanities: The Renaissance to the Modern Day
ARH 1000 – Art Appreciation
MUL 1110 – Music Appreciation
PHI 1630 – Applied Ethics
PHI 2100 – Introduction to Logic
REL 2000 – Introduction to Religion

Social Sciences
ANT 2000 – Introduction to Anthropology
PHI 1010 – Intro. to Philosophy
PSY 1012 – Intro. to Psychology
SYG 2000 – Into. to Sociology

Foreign Language
FRE 1120 – French I
FRE 1121 – French II

Language Arts/English
SPC 2600 – Intro. to Public Speaking
ORI 1000 – Performance of Literature
CRW 2001 – Creative Writing I
REA 1105 – College Reading Techniques

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