03 Apr SET for Life
High school is supposed to prepare you for what comes next. But what does that really mean?
For Molly McGinnis, now studying Communications at California State University San Marcos, the answer has little to do with test scores and everything to do with how she grew as a person.
Molly spent all four years at SET High, a small, public tuition-free charter high school in San Diego, and she kept herself busy. She served as a student representative on the school board, was active in ASB, SET Senate, Ignite peer mentoring, and yearbook. By the time she graduated, SET hadn’t just prepared her for college. It shaped who she is.
“This school was my saving grace,” Molly reflects, “giving me a wider view of the world and allowing me to think freely.” She credits courses built around teacher passion — classes like Religion and Mythology, Making Beats, Project You, and Leadership — as ones that helped her find her voice. At SET, that kind of class isn’t the exception. It’s the point.
At SET, passionate education is by design. Teachers build courses rooted in their own excitement and expertise, which is why our class and elective lineup looks unlike any other school’s. Students don’t just learn content, they learn that learning can be meaningful, personal, and even unexpected.
Teachers bring the whole world into the room. “There are teachers of all different religious backgrounds and ethnicities, who don’t shy away from sharing their experiences with students, helping them find out who they are, and helping them discover more about themselves and their own backgrounds if requested,” Molly explains. For a teenager still figuring out who they are, seeing themselves reflected in an adult at the front of the room — or encountering a perspective they’d never considered — can be just as formative as any lesson plan.
That spirit carries into how learning is assessed, too. At SET, Molly notes, “Teachers will often opt to do a project for a final instead of an exam, easing stress on students.” The emphasis is on asking students to create, build, and demonstrate rather than memorize and regurgitate under pressure. It’s a deliberate choice that sends a clear message: what you can do matters more than what you can recall on a stressful Friday morning. Students leave each semester with something real to show for their learning, not just a grade to move past.
Molly watched reserved students arrive at SET and, by the end of their first year, step into themselves: confident, curious, and unafraid to be seen. “Having this type of learning in my life made me fall into who I am,” she writes, “and how I choose to present myself to the world.”
SET’s 3x California Distinguished High School recognition reflects what alumni like Molly already know: academic excellence and personal growth aren’t in competition. They fuel each other.
The world after high school is complex. SET students are ready for it. Thanks for sharing your perspective with us Molly!
SET High is enrolling now for the 2026-27 school year. Come shadow for a day and see how we learn for yourself!
About SET High
SET High offers each student individual attention from multi-talented, highly qualified teachers. Students at our three-time awarded California Distinguished School build a healthy camaraderie with classmates inside an intellectually rigorous environment that brings out their talents and personality, helping them develop their individual character and direction in life. With a wide variety of electives, flexible scheduling, dual enrollment college classes and more — our students regularly exceed their academic and personal expectations. Enroll now. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Find us at www.sethigh.org.