Admission and Academics
As a Catholic institution, the school does not discriminate on the basis of race or religion in its admissions process. The school is funded by tuition with significant discounts offered for 2nd and 3rd children enrolled in the school. Financial aid is available for those who qualify.
In order to graduate, students require twenty-four credits and a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.0. They must also complete seventy-five hours of community service by the end of their senior year. The academics at Columbus are based on a phasing system: Phase 2 classes are for the academically challenged who require more time to absorb a given subject, Phase 3 classes are for average students, Phase 4 refers to honors classes for the academically gifted, and Phase 5 refers to Advanced Placement (AP) classes, which have a college-level format and where academically motivated students have the opportunity to gain college credit should they earn the proper score on the AP exam. Depending on a given phase of a class, a student will earn a certain amount of points, which are then weighted and averaged to generate a student's GPA, the average GPA being a 3.2.
In fact, Columbus has more students taking AP classes than any other Catholic school in Dade County and their passing averages on AP exams are five times higher than the state and national averages.
Read more about this topic: Christopher Columbus High School (Miami)
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