By Shivali Shah, Co-Editor-in-Chief
January at River Hill means cold mornings, piles of assignments and the annual challenge of course selection
The Synergy course selection application for the 2026-2027 school year opened on Tuesday, December 16th, allowing students to begin choosing which classes they plan to take next. The application closes on January 12th, giving students less than a month to curate their schedules.
Covering everything from core classes to electives, the process is a crucial step in fulfilling graduation requirements while also allowing students to explore potential career pathways and interests. “My priority in course scheduling is definitely preparing for my career,” junior Ava Stephenson explains. “When I grow up, I want to be a psychology major. I specifically want to major in child psychology, so [taking] Teaching as a Profession and AP Psych will help me get there.”
Sophomore Gabrielle McCray shares a similar approach to course selection, “Since I want to be a teacher, taking Foundations of Curriculum and Instruction definitely helps me. I like working with children so I’ll be able to do that [in the class].”
Beyond preparing them for their future careers, course selection exposes students to the myriad of opportunities available at River Hill. The variety of classes to choose from is something that many students appreciate. “It’s so amazing that so many kids here have the privilege to be able to pursue what they want without having to pay or leave school,” McCray explains.
This breadth extends beyond career-focused courses to classes that allow students to build practical skills, such as language proficiency. “I really like how our school is so diverse, especially in the language aspect; we have so many languages that you can take,” says Stephenson.
Another important step in the course scheduling process is schedule check-ins, during which students meet one-on-one with their guidance counselors to address any questions or concerns. Stephenson describes the meetings as a helpful support system, “I really like how the guidance counselors check in with us on our courses and they notify us if anything is wrong with our schedule or if there are two classes that conflict with one another. So it’s nice to have someone who can help you with scheduling.”
Along with planning graduation requirements, many students feel that guidance counselors provide valuable advice on which courses to take in order to set themselves up for success after graduation. McCray recalls some of the guidance she received from her counselor, “I’m taking French next year because my counselor said it would be good for me to have two years of language, so that will be my second year of language.”
While guidance counselors offer support throughout the scheduling process, many students still experience issues while finalizing their course selections. One of the biggest challenges lies in balancing required courses with electives that pique their interests, juggling their potential workload and stress levels. Freshman Nishant Pande describes this trade-off firsthand, “My priority is to find the right balance between work and fun. When deciding my classes. I need to weigh the pros and cons and also look at how much work each class gives to manage my schedule properly in the future.”
Pande explains how taking band is one way he prioritizes that balance, “I take band because I enjoy playing an instrument and it’s good for the mind. It’s a good break in the middle of the day, there isn’t too much stressful work. I don’t want to overload myself everyday; at that point, I’d be unsuccessful in all my classes.”
As students finalize their selections, course scheduling remains both a demanding and exciting process. While balancing interests and workload can be difficult, the opportunity to work towards future goals and explore new subjects makes the deliberation required especially rewarding.