Students looking to delve deeper into topics of interest may decide to take higher level classes such as advanced placement, International Baccalaureate, advanced college placement or dual credit without needing them for their diploma.

Senior Alisha Shultz took AP Psychology as a junior.

“I wanted to be a psychologist at the time, so I thought that taking a higher level class would help me more,” Shultz said.

At the time, Shultz had already taken all of the AP classes required for the diploma she is aiming to get. She decided to take AP Psychology to get a better grasp of the material being taught and a deeper understanding of the lessons.

While some students choose to take particular classes at a higher level to get a more in-depth understanding of specific topics, others choose to take the IB path. With IB, students are required to take higher level classes throughout all four years of high school.

Senior Miya Wai decided to take IB classes in order to get some of the benefits she had heard about.

“I thought I’d start [taking IB] because my sister did it too,” Wai said. “She got a different kind of experience from it which was more global and applicable to the real world.”