The high school years offer students unprecedented exposure to high-level content and the creative critical thinking opportunities typically reserved for university-level studies. Under the guidance of passionate Subject Expert Teachers who are deeply invested in their success, students gain the best possible preparation for college and hone skills and habits that stay with them long after graduation.  

Senior year is a unique bridge to college; a transition from traditional classroom learning to applying knowledge in a real context. To achieve this unique approach, our students can fulfill all required coursework in Grade 11 and focus their knowledge and skills into the three distinct pillars that make up senior year. 

“Our senior year allows students like me to differentiate themselves in the increasingly crowded market for college applications. Academic success depends on the publication of compelling research. Industry success depends upon delivering results that impact the bottom line of your research. This year enables me to prove that I can do both, while sampling the day-to-day work of my field of interest.” – Senior at BASIS Independent Schools 

Capstone Courses
These two-trimester courses are the teacher-created counterpart to AP® courses. While AP® courses typically cover a breadth of content, Capstones offer students the opportunity to explore a topic’s depth. Our teachers’ talents shine as they develop these college-level original courses tied to their own academic passions. In each course, students transition from classroom-style learning typical of high school to seminar-based or lab-based learning typical of college and university courses. 

In the past, Capstone courses have included: 

• Advanced Java Topics and Machine Learning   
• Arte Contemporaneo 
• Corporate Finance 
• Differential Equations   
• Economics of Water Resources 
• Existentialism and the Absurd  
• French Cinema 
• Inorganic Chemistry 
• Introduction to Gothicism and Horror  
• Linear Algebra & Multivariable Calculus 
• Lyric Poetry and Music 
• Neuroscience  
• Post-Colonial Literature 
• Rhetoric and Communications  
• Roman Drama  
• The Biology of Cancer 

College Counseling
This two-trimester-long daily class allows College Counselors to get to know students on a deeply personal level and help them determine what college and university options will align with their personal, educational, and professional goals with a focus on individual fit. This course helps students research colleges, work on college and scholarship applications, manage and organize college-related correspondence, write essays, and conduct mock interviews to develop interview skills. In addition, each student will meet individually with their College Counselor during class time. The atmosphere of the class is much like a focused study hall where students are expected to work in a dedicated and respectful manner to achieve their college admissions goals.  

The Senior Project
The senior year culminates in a three-month, off-site Senior Project, proposed and constructed by students under the guidance of an internal faculty advisor and an external professional specialist in the field of the student’s choosing. After three and a half years of academic preparation in high school, our seniors are ready to spend the last trimester of their high school careers applying their skills and knowledge to develop a project that is insightful, academically rigorous, and highly professional in nature. Students work with an internal BASIS Independent advisor and an external mentor, such as a lab director, entrepreneur, or researcher, and are required to blog about their experiences. The Senior Project culminates in a presentation of their findings to the entire school community. This event is a great source of pride for our whole school, a perfect capstone to the high school experience, and an inspiration for students to come.  

The final year at BASIS Independent is a bridge from traditional classroom learning to applying knowledge in a real context. BASIS Curriculum graduates leave our program prepared to be leaders in college and beyond.