If there’s one  aspect of Cathedral Prep that sets it apart from other schools in the area, it’s the vast amount of opportunities that it poses to its students. Most people would already know about the many extracurricular/ sports activities that we offer, but they often glance over the numerous academic possibilities that are presented. One of the most prominent programs that are offered, besides the AP classes, is the Gannon Scholars Program. This is offered to juniors and seniors, with juniors being able to take two classes and seniors being able to take up to three.

Currently, there are two core classes that students must take during the program. For juniors, they must take a literature and history course. Seniors have a few different options. First-year year seniors take a history and English class. Second-year seniors take a psychology class, a literature class, and have the option to take a third elective class of their choice. Some of the options for electives include an art history class, calculus, chemistry, philosophy, etc.

As far as the benefits for enrolling in the program, students who pass their classes receive three college credits per class. Classes are a semester in length, meaning that students can get 12 general education credits within their first year in the program. Seniors who have been in the program for two years can get up to 24 credits or more!

Senior student Aidan Richter says, “For those who are willing to put in the effort, it gives them a good idea of what the college experience is like, on top of getting the credits for cheap.”

To put this into perspective, two years of the program is almost an entire year of college, which is typically around thirty credits. Assuming that student is also taking AP classes and receiving additional credits from those, students can have well over a year of college credits. Each class that a student takes at Gannon is $300 per semester, which is an extremely good deal compared to what they would usually be priced at.

To comment on the difficulty of the class, seniors Adam Gavio and Michael Kuzma gave their perspectives. Both seniors havejust begun their second year in the program, and said that their first year was definitely easier than their second one.

Adam noted that, “The teachers can be very hit or miss,” and that the work load is greater than what you would receive at Prep. For the most part though, his experience has been a good one, with only minor difficulties.

When Michael was asked his thoughts on the program, he also remarked on the workload. “As a senior, you can take up to three classes,” he said. “One more, and you’d be considered a full-time college student. That, on top of your Prep classes, can lead to a very disproportionate workload.” He also agreed that the opportunity to get the college credits at such a low price was well worth the extra stress, however.

Overall the views on the program are fairly consistent, with most agreeing that they are glad they enrolled. Furthermore, the commute to Gannon is also very convenient, as it is only a few blocks away from Prep. If you are sophomore or junior that is considering enrolling in the program, be cognizant of the many benefits that you could reap from it.