How to Get Grade 11 Physics Credit After High School for Post-Secondary Admission
It’s 9:15 pm at my kitchen table, a half-eaten pepperoni pizza congealing next to my son Sam’s open laptop. He prods the screen with a crumb-covered finger, and I lean in to read the line he’s highlighted: “All applicants must show completion of Grade 11 Physics (or equivalent) for admission to second-year engineering entry.” Sam graduated high school 18 months ago, finished his first full year of an arts degree, and just decided he wants to switch to mechanical engineering. He took Grade 11 biology instead of physics, because at 16 he thought he wanted to be a graphic designer. Suddenly we’re staring down a problem I’d never even thought much about: how do you get a Grade 11 physics credit when you’re already in post-secondary?
I work part-time as a guidance assistant at our local high school, so I know my way around admissions rules, but this was new territory for me. My first thought was that he could just take a night class at the old high school, but when I called the main office, they told us they don’t allow already graduated students to enroll in high school credit courses anymore. All that goes through the adult and continuing education department now.
That was our first stop, and it’s the first place I tell other parents I’ve helped in the same spot to start. The local public adult education center offered Grade 11 physics as a one-semester night class, two evenings a week, for $50. That’s an unbeatable price, and the credits are fully accredited by our provincial ministry of education, so almost any university will accept them. The problem for Sam was that his current post-secondary classes were already on those two nights, and he couldn’t rearrange his schedule to fit. So we moved on to the next option.
I’d heard of private online high schools that offer credits for post-secondary students looking to fill prereqs, but I knew from experience that a lot of these are overpriced and some have credits that aren’t widely accepted. Before we even looked at any options, I followed the rule I now tell everyone to do first: I emailed the admissions office at the university Sam was applying to, laid out our situation, and asked exactly what types of Grade 11 physics credits they would accept. I got a reply three days later that clearly outlined their rules: they accept any accredited high school credit from the ministry, they accept equivalent introductory physics courses from accredited community colleges and universities, but any physics credit needs to include a supervised in-person lab component. That last detail was a lifesaver, because we almost signed up for an online course that only had virtual labs, which the university wouldn’t have accepted.
After getting that clarification, we looked at the community college option. The local community college had a 3-credit introductory physics course that covered all the content of Grade 11 physics, included a mandatory in-person lab, and the cost was $620. It would have transferred as an elective credit to Sam’s new engineering program if he got in, which was a nice bonus. But again, the course was scheduled during the day, four days a week, which conflicted with his current classes. So we ended up looking at the online credit option offered by our regional school board. It’s a public online school, accredited directly by the ministry, the course was self-paced, cost $400, and it required a three-day in-person lab held at the continuing education center during reading week. That fit Sam’s schedule perfectly.
Sam worked on the course modules for an hour or so after his morning lectures three days a week, finished all the units and tests in four months, and did his lab over the February reading week. We got his final grade and transcript six weeks later, and sent it off to the university with his application. The whole process cost less than half what a private online school would have charged, and we never had any questions about whether the credit would be accepted.
From going through this with Sam and helping three other families in the last year with the same problem, a few things have become clear. Most people panic when they find out they’re missing a high school prerequisite like Grade 11 physics after they’ve already started post-secondary, but there are almost always multiple paths to get the credit. The biggest mistake people make is signing up for the first course they find online without checking if it will be accepted by their target program. I’ve heard of one student who paid $1500 for a private online course, only to find out the university didn’t accept the credit because it had no in-person lab. That’s a lot of money and time wasted for nothing.
Another thing that works for a lot of people is asking if your current post-secondary institution can help. Some universities will allow you to take a non-degree introductory physics course through their continuing education department that counts as an equivalent for prerequisites. It’s often more expensive than adult ed, but it’s convenient if you’re already on campus. A few programs will even waive the Grade 11 requirement if you’ve already passed a first-year university physics course, so that’s another question to ask admissions early on.
Right now, we’re waiting for admission decisions to come out in May. Sam’s transcript is in, the credit is on his record, and everything looks good. It’s still not a done deal, but the hard part of getting the credit is behind us. For any parent or student going through this, it’s not as scary as it sounds. You just have to start at least 6 to 8 months before your application deadline to give yourself time to complete the course, confirm the rules first with the program you’re applying to, and start with the cheapest, most accredited options before you pay for more expensive private courses. Most of the time, it works out, even when you change your mind years after you left high school.
Please indicate: Thinking In Educating » How to Get Grade 11 Physics Credit After High School for Post-Secondary Admission