LOS ALAMITOS, CA — On Monday, Feb. 12, Los Alamitos High School juniors piled into the campus’ Performing Arts Center and spent their English class listening to the counselors give them all the information they need about senior registration.
Los Al is gearing up for the upcoming 2025 school year by scheduling English periods to be dedicated for counselor presentations for ninth, 10th, and 11th graders. Juniors currently remain the only grade on campus to have been to the PAC and been informed about next year’s registration.
During their English classes, all juniors gathered inside the PAC with their transcript and registration packet and chose their seats according to the designated areas assigned by counselor.
Once seated, students experienced a 30-minute presentation by counselors Davenport, Garcia, and Hutchinson, who explained the need-to-know information and tips to consider when deciding coursework for the 2024-2025 school year. Students were advised to research as soon as possible about colleges, visit campuses, and consider their SAT/ACT scores.
“I really surprised that the school year [has] gone by so fast, that we’re already on senior registration, but I’m definitely excited for senior year,” said Los Al junior Andrea Dao.
The counselors made sure to emphasize unique classes that emphasize creativity, such as the student mentor, yearbook, and mythology programs.
A new feature in the registration packets was the addition of multiple charts for students to plan the average
hours each week they will spend on homework, sleeping, and extracurricular activities. Alongside all of the course offerings, students can observe the average homework hours for each class every week from zero to 10 hours. Through these charts, students can log their predicted hours for various activities in order to fully understand the workload from the classes and wisely make their decisions.
The counselors urged students to think deeply about their senior schedules because it can be more difficult for changes in classes and zero periods once next school year starts. Once their courses have been processed and set in stone, it can be near impossible to accommodate everyone in the next school year for all of their class changes once the master schedule is finalized.
“The class I’m most excited for next year is my AP Biology class because I’m a big science person, and I want to learn more about biology,” said junior Ashely Woo.