As the end of the school year approaches, students will need to start deciding their future schedule. 

AICE, which stands for Advanced International Certificate of Education, is a set of  college-level classes for high school students. The University of Cambridge in England’s non-profit, non-teaching department, Cambridge Assessment, developed it. AICE lets students earn an advanced diploma to boost their college application. It also has the potential for students to earn college credit.

An AICE Diploma is a fantastic option for students in Florida to get funding for their college education. Through the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, students will be immediately eligible for the Florida Academic Scholars Award if they have obtained the diploma and fulfilled 100 hours of community service.

However, to be eligible for the Bright Futures award, students do not need to obtain the AICE diploma. There are other methods to be eligible for Florida Bright Futures prizes, including certain combinations of AICE coursework, community service hours, and minimum SAT/ACT scores.  For more information, please visit the Bright Futures website.

Olympic Heights and many other Florida schools are offering more AICE classes. For example, Advanced Placement Environmental Science, part of the College Board curriculum, has been switched to AICE Environmental Science for the upcoming school year.  “The courses are very much aligned,” Olympic Heights principal Kelly Burke said. “Therefore, we decided to change it to AICE Environmental,  which will give students another opportunity to help them fulfill one of the 7-course requirements for receiving an AICE diploma.  Students who receive an AICE diploma receive 100% of Bright Futures, as long as they meet the other requirements for GPA and Community Service hours.”

A minimum of seven credits, including the required Cambridge International AS Level Global Perspectives & Research, must be earned by students in subject groups 1, 2, and 3 (and potentially Group 4) in order to be granted the Cambridge AICE Diploma. Students are required to receive a minimum of one credit from Groups 1, 2, and 3. Any of the groups may contribute the final credits. One credit is given for a Cambridge International AS Level and two credits for a Cambridge International A Level. In addition to meeting the core group’s mandatory requirements, learners who pass the Cambridge International A Level in Global Perspectives & Research also receive one credit, which they can use in Group 4 to help fulfill the remaining seven credits needed.

“AICE psychology has been one of my favorite classes I have taken in high school,” Mia Fineman, a sophomore at Olympic Heights and member of SGA, said. “I am in the AS level, which is the first year, and next year I plan to take A level.” While many students consider it a hard class with a lot of work, it is rewarding. “The class is intense and fast-paced with a lot of work, but I like it because I want to be a psychologist in the future, so I feel like this class is a pathway for success,” Fineman continues. “For those interested in learning the basic fundamentals of physiology and analyzing core phycological studies, I definitely recommend this class.”