COLLEGE & CAREER PREP
The Upper School curriculum is designed to allow each student to reach a level of academic challenge that allows for growth and development as a whole student. The curriculum for the Upper School offers a challenging series of core subjects well-suited for the college-bound student.
College Preparatory benchmark outcomes are required for all students; however, students who extend beyond those expectations earn Honors, Advanced Placement, or Dual Credit distinction. Upper School students who wish to take Advanced Placement exams may choose to do so in any subject, or students who score highly on the Accuplacer exam and receive teacher recommendations may take a dual credit course, counting for both CCS graduation credit and college credit.
Matriculations and Acceptances
Charleston Collegiate students become entrepreneurs, employees at creative and tech firms, lawyers, accountants, and so much more. With the supportive guidance of our Upper School staff and our college counselor we are able to guide our students through the college and scholarship process.
CCS is a college-preparatory school and we expect students to perform at the best of their abilities in all of their courses and at a level that meets or exceeds college-recommendations. College matriculations and acceptances from 2016 - present include a variety of schools, including acceptance into many of these top university's honors or capstone programs:
- ANDERSON UNIVERSITY
- APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
- AUSTIN COLLEGE
- AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY
- BARD COLLEGE
- BELMONT UNIVERSITY
- BOB JONES UNIVERSITY
- BOSTON UNIVERSITY
- BREVARD COLLEGE
- BUTLER UNIVERSITY
- CHARLESTON SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
- CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
- COASTAL CAROLINA UNIVERISTY
- COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
- COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
- CONNECTICUT COLLEGE
- CONVERSE COLLEGE
- CORNELL COLLEGE
- DENISON UNIVERSITY
- DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
- DEPAUW UNIVERSITY
- EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
- ECKARD COLLEGE
- ELON UNIVERSITY
- EMORY UNIVERSITY
- FLAGLER UNIVERSITY
- FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
- FLORIDA GULF COAST
- FLORIDA SOUTHERN
- FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY
- FURMAN UNIVERSITY
- GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY
- GEORGETOWN COLLEGE
- GEORGIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
- GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
- HAWAII PACIFIC
- HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY
- HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES
- JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY
- JOHNSON AND WALES
- LANDER UNIVERSITY
- LEES MCRAE UNIVERSITY
- LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
- MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY
- MARITIME COLLEGE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (SUNY)
- MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY
- MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME ACADEMY
- MIAMI UNIVERSITY (OHIO)
- MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- MITCHELL COLLEGE
- NEWBERRY COLLEGE
- NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY
- NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
- OAKLAND UNIVERSITY
- OHIO UNIVERSITY
- PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
- QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY
- SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE
- SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
- SEWANEE - THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH
- SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
- SPELMAN COLLEGE
- ST. EDWARD'S UNIVERSITY
- TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
- THE CITADEL: MILITARY COLLEGE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- THE NEW SCHOOL
- TRIDENT TECH
- UNITED STATES MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY
- UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
- UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
- UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
- UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE
- UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE
- UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA WILMINGTON
- UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
- UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BEAUFORT
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
- UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
- UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- WARREN WILSON COLLEGE
- WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
- WINGATE UNIVERSITY
- WINTHROP COLLEGE
- WOFFORD UNIVERSITY
- XAVIER UNIVERSITY
Graduation Requirements
|
Department |
Credits |
Clarifications of CCS Offerings |
|
Humanities |
English |
4 credits
|
One each year of Upper School |
Humanities |
Social Sciences |
3 credits
|
Ancient History, Modern World History, American History |
S.T.E.M. |
Mathematics |
4 credits
|
One each year of Upper School; an additional credit may be earned in the eighth grade for high school level math. |
S.T.E.M. |
Science |
4 credits
|
All S.T.E.M. science courses count as lab sciences. |
S.T.E.M. |
Technology |
.5 credit
|
One half-credit of technology is required. |
Languages |
World
|
2 credits
|
One credit may be earned in the eighth grade for high school level language courses, and at least two additional credits must be earned in Upper School. |
Public Speaking |
Public Speaking |
.5 credit
|
Public Speaking is required. |
Government |
Government |
.5 credit
|
Government is required |
Physical Education |
Wellness and Athletics |
1 credit
|
Athletics (¼ credit may be earned for each season in which the student participates in CCS Varsity or Junior Varsity athletics), Physical Education (½ credit per semester), Outdoor Education (½ credit per semester), and Fine Arts (¼ credit per dramatic performance). |
Pillar
|
Fine Arts, Business, and Outdoor Education |
2 credit
|
Art Foundations, Heros in Contemporary Media, Industrial Arts, 2D Design, Leadership, Ecology, Wilderness, Film Studies, Film Making, Theater Studies, Drawing & Painting, Practical Geometry, etc. |
Junior Entrepreneurship and Economics |
Entrepreneurship |
.5 credit
|
May only be taken junior year. |
Junior Major Exhibition |
Junior Majors |
1 credit
|
May only be taken junior year. |
Senior Major Exhibition |
Senior
|
2 credits
|
May only be taken senior year. |
Majors Program
REQUIREMENTS
Junior Major:
- 30 hours per semester
- Digital portfolio and weekly blog
- Public exhibition
- Quarterly student evaluations
Senior Major:
- 75 hours per semester
- Digital portfolio and weekly blog
- Public exhibition
- Quarterly student evaluations
Our Upper School is not just designed to prepare students for college, but also for life. Our Majors Program moves students out of the traditional classroom environment and towards a deeper focus on their passions, soft skills, and professionalism. With this program, we give our students a jumpstart on their college and professional careers by providing intense and focused instruction that is unparalleled in other high school programs.
This program allows students to embark on an independent study, while being mentored by a CCS teacher or community member. Enabling students to be the keystone of their education allows them to become excited about the possibilities beyond graduation - preparing them not just for college, but also for life.
Throughout their twelve-plus years at Charleston Collegiate, our students are provided with a great deal of academic enrichment, challenging coursework, intense project-based learning, and a phenomenal arts program. Our students internalize these experiences, creating aspirations for college and beyond.
CCS’s Majors Program was incorporated into our teaching curriculum in 2016. From that initial year we saw our students cultivate a more thoughtful and deeper understanding of not only their major, but themselves. Early on, they are able to begin their journey towards a career path or learn that they may need to detour. At CCS, we place no bounds (within reason) on the subjects or interests our students declare for their majors. We focus more on the learning experience and the unbridled passion each student brings towards their major.
Grading Scale
For the graduating class of 2023, the grade point averages are calculated on a 5.0 weighted scale. For a student who has attended CCS since ninth grade and has taken the most challenging courses offered and earned a 100 percent, that student's South Carolina Uniform Grading Scale GPA would be 5.30.
Class Rank: CCS does not rank students.
