Requirements

COLLEGE PREPARATORY PHILOSOPHY

The goal of all advising at Cathedral High School is to help students achieve their academic and professional aspirations.  College selection is at the heart of this process. Through an individualized approach, academic schedules are planned which take into consideration all aspects of the student:  his/her ability, personal and spiritual preparedness, motivation, and vision for the future. Counselors make every effort to connect with all students, getting to know them beyond the surface level, so that their guidance is given with thoughtful consideration to the many factors which enter into student success.  In addition, teachers work carefully with the counselors to encourage students to challenge themselves along the academic journey.  In short, Cathedral High School is dedicated to a student centered educational process.  For purposes of overall planning, academic advising takes into consideration two sets of state guidelines for college preparation, which offer students a positive curricular balance for college entrance as well as an increased opportunity for need-based funding at the post-secondary level. These two regimens, Core 40 or Core 40 with Academic Honors, are described on the following pages.  It should be emphasized that, under no circumstances, will any set of requirements supersede the individual needs of a student, but they should be familiar to Cathedral families and used as possible guidelines for course selection.

Graduation Pathways

With the passage of the Graduation Pathways, the Indiana Department of Education has created the opportunity for students to individualize their high school graduation requirements. This document provides the Indiana Graduation Pathway requirements and options for Cathedral students.

CATHEDRAL CORE 40 GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

The following is a list of Cathedral High School course requirements for graduation. The requirements listed below satisfy the Indiana Department of Education Core 40 requirements. Additional requirements are needed to meet the Core 40 with Academic Honors diploma requirements.

The Indiana State Department of Education and the Commission for Higher Education strongly recommend that all students complete the Core 40 requirements in order to be considered for regular admission to Indiana’s four-year public colleges, two-year public colleges or entry into the workforce. In addition, if a student completes Core 40 with a 2.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale) and meets financial need guidelines, that student can receive up to 90 percent of approved tuition and fees at Indiana public colleges and universities.  There is also increased interest from private colleges as well as organizations in awarding aid to very successful Core 40 students. The Core 40 and Academic Honors Diploma are subject to change. Cathedral will communicate any changes made by the state as soon as we are informed of such changes.

Biology2 Credits
Chemistry, Physics, or ICP2 Credits
Composition1 Credit
Economics1 Credit
Electives3 Credits
English8 Credits
Fine Arts2 Credits
Government1 Credit
Health1 Credit
Mathematics8 Credits
Physical Education2 Credits
Science Elective
2 Credits
Speech/Debate1 Credit
Religion 9 and 104 Credits
Catholic School Teaching1 Credit
Religion Selectives3 Credits
U.S. History2 Credits
World Language4 Credits
World History2 Credits
Total50 Credits

Important Notes:

1.     A math and English course must be taken each semester of a student’s tenure at Cathedral.  

2.  The Language Support Program also requires a full year of Freshman Language Intensive and a full year of Fundamentals of Writing.  

3.  Students enrolled in AP English or LSP English do not have to take a one semester Composition course. Journalistic Writing may satisfy the composition requirement for students enrolled in Academic and CP English.

4. Students enrolled in AP English or LSP English do not have to take a one semester Composition course.

5. *Students enrolled in AP English must take X Debate or ACP Public Speaking. Students enrolled in CP, A, or LSP English must take Speech. Intro to Acting I or ACP Public Speaking may satisfy the Speech requirement for students enrolled in CP, A, or LSP English.

6. Please visit the academic pages to find a current list of course offerings along with course descriptions and prerequisite requirements.

CORE 40

The Indiana State Department of Education and the Commission for Higher Education strongly recommend that all students complete the Core 40 requirements in order to be considered for regular admission to Indiana’s four-year public colleges, two-year public colleges or entry into the workforce. In addition, if a student completes Core 40 with a 2.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale) and meets financial need guidelines, that student can receive up to 90 percent of approved tuition and fees at Indiana public colleges and universities.  There is also increased interest from private colleges as well as organizations in awarding aid to very successful Core 40 students. The Core 40 and Academic Honors Diploma are subject to change. Cathedral will communicate any changes made by the state as soon as we are informed of such changes.

CORE 40 with ACADEMIC HONORS DIPLOMA

At Cathedral High School no diploma is valued more than another. As a college preparatory institution, student career goals and aspirations are considered in all planning. For some, meeting the Core 40 with Academic Honors Diploma requirements may be important, especially for financial aid reasons. For other students, who may have identified specific interests and post-secondary schools to match those interests, the Core 40 with Academic Honors requirements may have less significance. Throughout the career and college exploration period, which encompasses all four years of high school, students will work with their counselors to research the needs of different higher education institutions.

There are several benefits to meeting the requirements for the Core 40 with Academic Honors Diploma.  First, successful completion of the requirements listed below, as well as other admission requirements, may help with admission to some of Indiana’s state universities.  Second, if the student meets state need based financial aid guidelines, he/she may receive tuition assistance to public colleges and universities. Finally, some private Indiana colleges also give automatic scholarships if the student meets the Core 40 with Academic Honors standards.

A student meeting the Core 40 with Academic Honors Diploma requirements listed below will have a designation included on his/her diploma.

English/Language Arts, Literature, Composition, Speech: 8 credits

Social Studies: 6 credits (2 credits of U.S. History, 1 credit of U.S. Government, 1 credit of Economics, and 2 credits of World History/Civilization.)

Mathematics: 8 credits (Algebra first and second year, Geometry, and one upper level course.)

Science: 6 credits (2 credits of Biology, 2 credits of Chemistry or Physics and 2 more credits of Chemistry, Physics, Earth/Space Science, Advanced Biology, Advanced Chemistry or Advanced Physics or a program of equal rigor.)

World Language: 6-8 credits (6 credits in one language or 4 credits each in two different languages.)

Fine Arts: 2 credits (Any courses in Visual Arts, Music, Theatre Arts and Dance.)

Health and Safety: 1 credit

Physical Education: 2 credits

A student must earn at least a “C-” in every class above and have an overall “B” average.

Additionally for the Core 40 with Academic Honors diploma, students must complete one of the following:

  • Four Advanced Placement credits and corresponding AP exams or four IB credits and corresponding IB exams.
  • Academic, transferable dual high school/college course(s) resulting in 6 college credits
  • Complete a combination of Advanced Placement courses (2 credits) and corresponding AP exam and academic transferable dual high school/college course(s) resulting in 3 college credits
  • Earn a composite score of 1250 or higher on the SAT and a minimum of 560 on math and 590 on the evidenced based reading and writing section.
  • Earn an ACT composite score of 26 or higher and complete written section.

A complete list of AP and dual credit courses offered may be found on the Advanced Placement (AP) page and the Dual Credit page.

ACT and SAT benchmark scores are determined by the Indiana Department of Education and are subject to change.

Cathedral High School does not offer the Technical Honors Diploma.