Which K-12 Track is for you?

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — High school used to be quite simple: there was first year, second year, third year and fourth year.

Amid a backdrop of raging hormones, hanging out with friends, epic life realizations and first loves (and heartbreaks), everyone studied the same stuff. After those four years, you took college entrance tests, hoped that you pass and went on your way.

But with the new K-12 program, high school is now divided into four years of junior high school and two years of senior high school (SHS). The latter is further divided into four Tracks:

Academic (with five Strands: General Academic; Pre-Baccalaureate Maritime; Accountancy, Business and Management or ABM; Humanities and Social Sciences or HUMSS; and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics or STEM)

Technical-Vocational-Livelihood or TVL

Sports

Arts and Design

Choosing the right Track is critical in making you highly proficient in a particular field, especially if you’re thinking of working immediately after graduating from SHS. But if you’re an incoming Grade 11 student, which should you choose?

Here are some helpful tips from AMA Senior High School on what you should think of when picking an SHS Track:

1. What do you do during your free time?

What you do during your free time could be something that you will really enjoy doing for the rest of your life.

If it’s basketball, the Sports Track might be the way to go. If it’s drawing, singing, dancing or creating different crafts, Arts and Design could be for you. If you love gadgets and experimenting with apps and different gizmos, STEM or TVL could be a good choice.

No matter what your interest or hobby maybe, there is an SHS Track and strand that is suited for it.

2. What subject are you good at?

Another important thing to consider when choosing a Track is identifying what subjects or topics are you good at.

Knowing what areas you are competent in could be your guide in making the right choice. If you’re good in communications, you might consider taking up HUMMS. If you’re good with numbers, ABM or STEM would be the right strands to take to further enhance your numerical skills.

3. Remember your dream career!

Since we were kids, people would ask us what our ambition is.

Though some people end up in a different career or field once they graduate, it doesn’t mean that you can just choose any Track and pursue any profession someday, even if it has nothing to do with your educational background.

It is still best to fully prepare yourself for your dream career or profession, which you can do by choosing the right Track. Being sure of what you want to be will help you decide which Track is best for you.

4. How much?

This perhaps is the most important factor for most families.

Each Track has certain requirements or activities that need a lot money. Some expenses might be too prohibitive for some students and their families that they would choose to just pass up on certain activities or projects.

When choosing a Track, it is also important to carefully assess the other expenses that you have to prepare for. Make sure to ask the school for other things that you will have to pay for on top of the tuition fee.

Knowing whether or not the estimated expenses can be covered by your budget will help a lot in deciding whether or not to pursue a Track at a certain school or go for other possible options.

5. Get good advice

There are some issues or situations that you can’t figure out on your own.

Whether you’re a student or a parent of an incoming SHS student, finding the perfect fit or the right Track could sometimes be a bit difficult. In case you find yourself confused by the whole SHS thing, the best thing to do is ask for advice or suggestions.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions from other people, as it is always better to know what to do than do something without knowing anything about it.

Bonus tip: Consider convenience!

One wonderful fact about SHS is that there are some schools that offer the blended learning system. This is a system where students only need to go to school three times a week and spend the remaining two school days studying at home or even while travelling through online education.

In the Philippines, AMA Senior High School is the first to offer such a learning system for SHS through its online education facility, AMA University Online Education (AMA OEd).

In addition, AMA OEd also offers short courses, undergraduate and graduate degrees in information technology, mass communication and political science, among a variety of other programs.

Learn more about AMA Senior High School at www.amaes.edu.ph and AMA OEd at amauonline.com.