Course Selection for Rising Upper Mids

Pay Close Attention to Diploma Requirements

• Be mindful of diploma requirements. After the lower mid year, it is especially helpful to make and periodically revise your plan of study (Google Doc template). This sign up template may also be helpful with managing course preferences and electives. 

• Students who entered as preps generally have completed graduation requirements in Humanities & Social Sciences, Science, and Visual & Performing Arts. Depending on your entry level, you may have also fulfilled the Classical & Modern Languages requirement.

• Students who entered as lower mids must take an additional year in Humanities & Social Sciences. That course need not be another course in U.S. history.

Guide by Discipline

English

• All upper mids are enrolled in EN350Y Upper Mid English.

Languages

• Which level? Your Languages teacher will inform you if you are being recommended for a level other than your current trajectory (i.e. if you are in CN250Y and they are recommending you for CN380Y, they would let you know; if they are recommending you for CN350Y they will not). If you have any questions about your placement, please reach out to your current Languages teacher.

• Diploma requirement. Students who enter Hotchkiss in their prep or lower mid years are required to complete study in Languages through the 300 level to be eligible for a diploma. More information about language course selection.

Math

• Which level? Your Math teacher will inform you if you are being recommended for a level other than your current trajectory. You should contact the Head of the Math Department, Mr. Justin Almeida, if you intend to complete summer work to advance in math or you struggled in math over the past year. If you have any questions about your placement, please reach out to your current Math teacher and/or reach out to the Head of the Math Department.

• Diploma requirement. Successful completion of any 300-level math course satisfies the graduation requirement, but students should still continue taking math as almost all colleges expect students to have 4 years of math. Your advisor should consult with the College Office if you have any questions about the details about how math fits into the college application process. More information about math course selection.

Science

• More choices. In your upper mid year, your science options open up significantly; pay attention to prerequisites as you plan your next years of science.

• If you are considering an honors course, please consult with your current science teacher and pay close attention to course prerequisites. More information about science course selection.

Interdisciplinary Courses

• IC450S Intercultural Communication
  You might be fluent in Spanish, French, German, Chinese, but can you communicate effectively across cultures by showing an understanding of and sensitivity to cultural differences? We live in an era of unprecedented interconnectedness between people from widely different cultural backgrounds. We now engage in intercultural contact more frequently than ever before and intercultural competence has become a crucial skill to possess in the 21st century. In this course, we will learn basic conceptual tools and theories of intercultural communication. Students will analyze their personal intercultural experiences and deconstruct intercultural communication processes presented in course materials, including literature, film and a repertoire of critical incidents. By the end of this course, students will be able to: identify key theories and concepts of intercultural communication that have pragmatic utility for purposes of communicating across cultures; engage in and critically reflect on activities intended to develop their sensitivity to cultural differences; observe the complexities of intercultural communication processes by reflecting on the nature of culture shock, cultural adaptation, integration, and intercultural conflicts. Prerequisites: none.