With next years course selection coming up, almost everyone seems to have electives on their mind. Photography, Marketing, APs, Drama, Psychology, ect. The choices are endless. Because Oakton offers a variety of options, many electives seem to get overshadowed by the the more popular electives. The less “popular” electives are ignored for a number of reasons, including the inaccurate assumption that it will look bad or lazy on college applications. AP classes are taken to boost GPA or look appealing on a college application, classes like Marketing and Psychology are taken to help future careers, and classes like Studio Art and Photography are taken to express ones creativity.  Here are some of the more “unpopular” electives you may not know about that may be more beneficial than you think.

Digital Art:

If you are thinking about pursuing a career in art or just love to create art and use technology, this class is a must. The curriculum of this class focuses on using different art programs on the computer such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, etc and how to use them to create beautiful masterpieces. Even if you don’t want to pursue a career in art, the programs you use in this class will almost definitely be used later in life. These programs are very popular if you want to work with computers or design. “Everyone who takes the class seems to enjoy it, but it seems overshadowed by classes like Studio Art” says Felicia Gordon (9).

AP Music Theory:

If you take band, chorus, orchestra, or are just interested in music, this one’s for you! In this AP elective, you can learn and analyze different musical techniques. You will get to compose your own music and study the history of music. Of course, there is an AP exam at the end of the year, but you also get a very useful GPA boost.

Astronomy:

Located in the planetarium, this class deals with galaxies, stars, and the exploration of space. The planetarium offers a different learning experience as it is not your typical classroom; you can study the universe while relaxing on plush chairs, and there are occasional screenings of movies that involve space, such as Interstellar. Another large upside to this elective is, if you are going for the advanced diploma, it counts as a fourth science credit. This means that  if you take this elective in your senior year, you do not have to take another science class. If you have any interest in how our solar system works, this class is very interesting and should be strongly considered.

Tech Theatre:

Have you ever wondered how the sets for our many schools plays and musicals are made? What about the light and sound? Well, there’s an elective for that! In Tech Theatre, you can put your art skills to use and create sets for the drama students to use, or help control the light and sound of a performance. It is also a very convenient choice if you are interested in drama, but don’t care for scripting and performing. If you love building, painting, or teaching, this class is a very fun choice.