New Students

Incoming Freshmen

DLS conducts complete registration for the incoming freshmen class during an evening session at the school in March of 2023. Reviewing this curriculum guide in advance is well worth the time.

The scheduling review process will include curriculum recommendations for parents to consider from admissions and a counselor to provide insight and suggestions. Incoming freshmen course requests are considered final upon completion of the evening’s registration program. The admissions department stands ready, throughout the process, to answer any question or provide assistance for parents and students

We have found that students who have a B average and achieved a sub-score 75 or higher in the High School Placement Test are more likely to succeed in the corresponding subject area’s honor level courses. The content of College Preparatory and Honors classes differs in the pace, depth, and increased individual student responsibility for their own learning.

Students who received an “A” for their final foreign language grade in 8th grade may request, through the admissions director, to take DLS’s end of year exam to place out of the first foreign language year if the student demonstrates mastery as determined by the foreign language department leader. The test must be taken in June prior to the end the DLS school year. The department leader will make the determination and the admissions department will notify the family. The constructive credit, while counting toward graduation, will not be used in computing the GPA. Placement into year two of the language is predicated on two factors and should not be considered an automatic schedule request adjustment: 1) Passing the examination, and 2) The actual ability to schedule the student into the advanced course as determined by the master schedule.

Transfer Students

As with incoming freshmen, transfer students (regardless of grade level) are registered through the admissions department in much the same manner as the incoming freshmen. Transfer students provide their transcripts and report cards to facilitate the best potential course selections as possible under the presumption the student will graduate from DLS while meeting the school’s graduation requirements. Every attempt will be made to schedule the student into the courses that are required to graduate. The admissions department can provide answers to questions relating to the transfer. As a matter of policy, all students new to DLS are on a one semester probationary status in terms of academic performance, attendance, behavior, and the student code of conduct. Acceptance of transferred credits and/or course placement rests with the administration.

International Students

All international students are required to be proficient in English speaking, reading, and writing. Applicants must have either a minimum score of 54 on the Secondary Level English Proficiency (SLEP) exam or a minimum score of 59 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) test. Students are evaluated upon English proficiency scores, academic grades, and recommendations.

The school reserves the right to require a language proficiency re-test at De La Salle of any international student at the student’s expense. A student who falls below the aforementioned minimum scores may be withdrawn by the school Any expenses (i.e. return to home country) will be the responsibility of the family and not the school.

International students from non-English speaking countries have a modified curriculum to better situate them for success as they transition into De La Salle. During the first semester, they will have a reduced course load to better focus on language assimilation and coursework expectations. The students will still identify a full course load during initial registration, but may not begin attending certain courses until their second semester. The first semester will be the transition term. These students will be scheduled for English as a Second Language, mathematics, science, English, and SAIL (see course description later in the guide) to provide them time to acclimate. The second semester course work will add theology and social studies and any other electives. Students may wish to hire a private tutor to help support their further academic needs.

As English is a second language for the student, they will have already met the foreign language requirement de facto and will be waived from learning a third language unless they choose to do otherwise.