Education Overhaul
This might just be my favorite mod I've made... This originally started out as a request to make a small addition of more school projects for children using game objects. It turned into something much more... I've done an overhaul of the Education Career and Preschool, Elementary/Middle, and Secondary school in the Sims 4 in general.
For YA and up, there's a new branch of the Education Career for K-12 teachers with new assignments, tasks, new career goals, rework of the education track, support for degrees and university career entitlements including custom degrees.
Toddlers have the option to go to preschool on Mondays-Fridays for about 7 hours. They will develop all toddler skills, have their needs met, and learn character values. They have a chance to receive buffs at the end of their day.
Children and Teens are the focus of this mod. There are also a ton of new options for children and teens: in school interactions, field trips, the return of detention and military school, variable school projects, different types of homework assignments, new school options, and more.
Please read the mod description as it is very important you understand what the mod does and what it affects.
Features
Education Career
- Reworked the introductory track of the career to be broader and incorporate levels from Sims 1, 2, and 3
- New Branch in Education Career: K-12 Educator
- Added support for Discover University with required degrees. Sims needs a degree in Art History, Biology, Economics, Literature and Languages, Physics, Psychology, or Zero's custom Education Degree to advance to a branch
- Degrees requirements from any of these fields leads to career entitlements for PTO, signing bonuses, performance, etc.
- Shortened the length of time for tutoring and adjusted the pay for completion
- New Custom Daily Task (Research Teaching Methods)
- Work from Home Assignments (Answer Parent Emails, Research Teaching Techniques, Write Progress Reports, Attend Department Meetings)
- New Career Goals for starting track and Educator branch
Preschool
Towards the end of finishing the mod, I realized I needed a preschool option that occurred during the day. Toddlers can now enroll in Preschool on Monday- Fridays from about 730am and will stay there for about 7 hours. Enroll the Toddler by clicking on the Toddler you want to enroll. They can manually be sent by clicking on the toddler, if necessary. While away, their needs will be met, they will gain skills, and increase their character values. You have the option to keep them home instead by canceling the Preschool interaction.
**Note about Preschool and Daycare/Nanny: The Nanny/Daycare situation and notifications are hardcoded into the game. Therefore the notification will pop up when there's no one at home even if the toddler is already at Preschool. You must choose the Send to Daycare option. This will not actually send them to daycare, they will go and stay at Preschool but the game requires a choice. Note also that if you travel off lot with another Sim, they will come back from Preschool when you return home. Because the game code does constant toddler checks and does everything in its power to send unattended toddlers to daycare, sometimes the toddler may come home early or go to daycare. I've blocked a lot of this, but it will still happen on occasion.***
New Education Enrollment Options
There are a few new education options in the game for children and teens. There are two independent/private prep school - Wintercrest Preparatory School and SimCity Academy- and two new alternate public options: Bedlington Latin School (a specialized exam school) and Striker Alternative School (an alternative school for learning difficulties and behavioral/social-emotional difficulties). There are two experimental boarding schools - Fort Starch Military Institute and Huntington Preparatory Academy. Please note that the boarding schools are an experimental feature and are still a beta.
Application Process
All the new school options have application requirements to complete on the computer (under the School menu under Career)before your sim can join them. An application fee, a personal statement/essay, and a tour/interview/evaluation are required. After writing the personal statement and going on the tour/interview/evaluation, they will need to go back to the computer to submit their final application and pay the application fee for private/independent school. The student must complete and submit all application requirements, but if accepted, only parents can enroll their children. Similarly, only parents can withdraw their children from school. After submission, your sim should hear back from the Admissions Committee within 4 hours. You have 24 hours to enroll the student once accepted or the spot is lost. You can reapply after 5 days.
There is a chance a Sim's applications can be rejected, though this is less likely depending on grades, after which they will remain in public school. Sims who have a failing grade of F at any school have a chance of flunking out and being sent to Striker Alternative School.
Independent/Private and Exam Schools
Independent/private and the specialized schools works similarly to EA school although Sims are more likely to gain skills and increase character values due to their enrollment and learn skills faster due to their wider opportunities and first-rate education. Sims who attend independent/private school will wear uniforms. School hours are 7:30am-1:30pm for upper school students and 7:30am-2:30pm for lower school students.
Virtual School
Students can now be enrolled in Virtual School. To enroll in Virtual School, use the School menu under the phone (as the student)or the computer.
Once enrolled, each day before school starts, they will have the option to Attend In-Person Classes or Attend School Virtually.
If they decide to attend school virtually, they will have three tasks to perform which can include (but are not limited to) the following options:
Group Session with Classmates
Study Independently
Do 2 Hours of Physical Exercise
Complete Experiential Learning
Complete Assessment
Attend Virtual Classes
Complete Assignments
Students must Log on and Log out of the Virtual Classroom at the beginning and end of each school day. When attending classes, students must choose from one core class, one elective class, and one skills class. Students enrolled in Virtual School still can participate in school activities including in-school opportunities and after school events and can receive assignments like other students.Occult School
Occult Sims can enroll on the phone under the School menu or on the computer in an Occults only school. There they will gain experience and skills related to their specific occult.
Boarding School
NOTE: Boarding Schools are an experimental feature! They may not always work as expected. If they don't work for you, withdraw your Sim via phone/computer and choose another school option. **When EA fixes rabbithole exit conditions, I will update functionality.**
Students who are at boarding school can only be withdrawn at their parent's behest or upon aging up to young adult. There's a chance that after a few days the Sim may become homesick. A parent will receive notification asking if they wish to withdraw the homesick Sim or not. While the student is away, they can still have texts sent to them and chat with family members through the relationship panel. If you wish a Sim to stop going to boarding school permanently, you must cancel the interaction and then either have an adult withdraw them using the phone/computer and they'll go to their local public school or you can apply to a different application-required school and upon acceptance they will automatically be withdrawn.
After aging up to teen and during holidays, your boarding sim will come home for a two day break and then return to boarding school. Once aging up to a teen, a notification will pop up asking if the parents wish to pay for another year's tuition or unenroll the sim. The sim will be enrolled into Public School upon unenrollment. During Summer your boarding sim will come home for summer break and then return to boarding school. You can end their break and send them back at anytime under the phone menu. Sims at boarding school will have the chance to learn and gain most major skills. You can bring your boarding school sim home at any time, but in order to formally enroll them in another school, you must withdraw them from boarding school via the School menu. Note: If your sim's still grey in the panel after returning from boarding school, travel to a different lot and then back and they should be normal again.
Grade School and High School Changes
Homework, School Projects, and Assignments
Added the ability for your Sims to do their homework online. The option exists under the Career menu.
Added more Homework Options for Children and Teen through Homework Book which increases skills and character values while fulfilling homework task
Unlocked Homework book options for Children:
- Fill Out Activity Chart (Motor)
- Do Math Problems (Mental)
- Practice Vocabulary (Creativity)
- Review Social Studies (Social)
Homework book options created for Teens:
- Study Dramaturgy (Charisma/Acting)
- Submit Original Composition (Piano/Violin/Guitar)
- Prove Scientific Principles (Rocket Science)
- Write English Paper (Writing)
- Work on Art Critique (Painting)
- Solve Linear Equations (Logic)
- Compose Analytical Argument (Research&Debate/Logic)
New School Projectsand Active Assignments
Randomly every week or two, child and teen Sims will receive the additional assignments and projects. Not completing these custom projects and assignments before the next school day will penalize their work performance. If assigned one of these custom projects and assignments, they will count as homework when assigned and Sims will not be able to use the homework book to complete their homework.
A note about EA's Parenthood School Projects: If installed, these projects will now no longer be given every Monday. They will be randomly assigned along with the custom assignments. They will also need to be completed before the next school day, will count as homework, and will no longer be for extra credit.
- Artwork Assignment - Spend time working on artwork/painting
- Coding Assignment - Beginner coding assignment (new BG interaction)
- Essay Assignment - Spend time writing an essay on computer or in homework book (new BG interaction)
- Music Assignment - Practice for Band Concert, Orchestra, or Recital
- Performance Assignment - Practice for Role by Learning Lines (new interactions, BG compatible), Singing, Puppet Theatre
- Science Assignment- Chemistry Experiment (Children); Stargazing at Observatory (Teens)
- Test Assignment - Study for Exam (new study options on the computer)
School Day Changes
Detention
Detention makes a comeback! If your sim spends most of their time in school (via one of the new away interactions below) either sleeping in class, disrupting class, goofing off, or gets caught doing homework there's a chance they could be sent to after-school detention. Detention lasts for about 2 hours. Detention is more likely the poorer a student's grades are. If a Sim gets Detention, their parents may discipline the student. If your Sim gets repeated detentions and have poor grades, they are more likely to be kicked out of school and forced to attend the alternative school.
New Away Actions for Students
Goof Around (Irresponsible) - Increases Fun. Lowers Performance, Responsibility, Emotional Control, and Manners.
Participate in Group Work - Increases Fun, Social, Skills, Responsibility, and Conflict Resolution. Slows the rate of performance gain.
Copy Homework - Increases Homework Completion. Decreases Responsibility and Manners. Chance for Detention.
Actively Participate (Study Hard)- Increases Performance, Skills, Empathy, Responsibility, and Manners. Decreases Fun.
Be Disruptive - Increases Fun. Lowers Performance, Responsibility, Emotional Control, and Manners. Chance for Detention.
Sleep During Class - Increases Energy. Decreases Manners and Responsibility. Chance for Detention.
University Prep - Teens only. Increases Performance, Skills, and Responsibility. Decreases Fun.
Attend Club Meetings - Increases Fun, Social, Responsibility, and Conflict Resolution.
Take Notes - Increases Performance, Skills, and Responsibility. Decreases Fun.
Field Trips
Students will now have a small chance at the beginning of the day to go on one of six Field Trips with classmates instead of to School. They will receive a buff at the end of their trip.
- Aquarium
- Art Museum
- Planetarium
- Professional Theatre Production
- Sim River Conservatory
- Zoo
In-School Events
At the end of the school day, children and teens can choose to participate in a Spelling Bee (grade school only), Student Body Elections (teens only), Science Fair, or Art Showcase. They have a chance to win a prize.
Honor Roll/Honor Society
Students with high grades and skills have an opportunity to make honor roll (Grade School and Middle School) or join the Honor Society (High School).
School Hours
Hours for public high schoolers have been changed from 8am-3pm to 8am-2pm.
Snow Days
Your sims can now experience the joys of snow days. They will randomly occur, mostly during winter but a small chance they can happen during fall or spring, on days when there's snow on the ground and your sims will have a day off to lament the snow or make snow angels!
Summer and Winter Break
Sims enrolled in all schools (including the private school from the Private School mod) will now no longer be required to attend school during the summer and winter. They will have the opportunity be on break for the entire summer and mid-to-late winter and will automatically return to school on the next weekday of Fall/Spring. Of course, parents can elect to send their children back at any time via the School menu on the phone or computer as well as opt-out of sending them at all.
Dropping Out
For some, school just isn't the way. Children and Teens have the ability to use the Drop out of School option available in the School menu on the phone. Dropping out will make it more difficult to become promoted if they seek employment. An adult in the household can always enroll them back in school if they change their minds. (I will be adding a GED-type course and exam for those who drop out in the future).
School Milestones and After School Events
Note: The separate mod is being phased out and should not be used with this mod.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Sims can sign up for Parent-Conferences and learn about their students' progress.
Game Night and Theater Performance
After school on some days, children and teens have an opportunity to get a chance to attend the school play or sports game with household members and friends.
Prom and School Dances
These now occur randomly during school nights.
Graduation
Graduation now occurs automatically on a teen Sim's last day as a teen. If you having aging off, you can manually choose to have graduation for your teen, but it will not age them up. They will attend in cap and gown if from public or private school or in military dress if from military school. Depending on their grades, graduates have a chance to graduate with honors or be valedictorian. Upon graduation, they will be withdrawn from school.
School Picture Day
School picture day can now randomly have occurred during or at the end of the school day for both teens and children.Your sim will get a notification it happened and a random buff.
Academic Aptitude Test
During the last 3 days as a Teen, Teen Sims will receive a notification that they have the opportunity to go and take an Academic Aptitude Test via the phone or computer. Taking the test will give them a large boost in performance.This is especially helpful if you have a mod that takes into account a Sim's final grade level/trait for University acceptance.
Future Plans
- Add the ability to obtain High School Graduate Level Certificate after homeschooling or dropping out and becoming Young Adult.
- Update functionality for boarding schools once EA fixes rabbithole exit conditions
- Add changes to university acceptance based on school performance and which schools attended (i.e. going to prep school might give you a little leg up in uni acceptance) in a collaboration with Ilkavelle
- Add a couple active school trips and an actual graduation event to start after graduation
Requirements
Required Packs
Base Game
Discover University (Only for the Education Career. It's the adeepindigo_gameplaymods_EducationOverhaul_M_DU_REQUIRED_EducationCareer file. Do not install if you do not have Discover University.)High School Years (Only for the files labeled HSY)
Snowy Escape is NOT required for the EA Default version but if you have it, you can choose the pack uniform your sims will wear to Prep School in the ChooseSnowyEscapeUniform version.
Compatibility and Instructions
NOTE: Mod Conflicts simply mean the same files are used and if both in the game could cause one or the other not to work as intended depending upon how they're loaded. If a mod is not listed below, I did not find a conflict with it, but if you do, let me know.
Download Instructions:
Read Instructions 1-6 and the Compatibility and Conflict Information below. No other mods are needed for this mod to work.Place the entire folder from the zip file into your mods as is. The path should be similar to this: Electronic Arts -The Sims 4 - Mods - [adeepindigo] Education Overhaul v4. Do not change the name.If you have School Milestones installed, delete before adding this mod! Make sure if you have Family and Youth Activities, it's version 2.9 or higher.
Also, always clear your cache when installing or uninstalling script mods!!
1. Delete any previous versions (the whole mod and all modules).
No other mods are needed for the mod to work that are not included in the zip. Check, double check, and triple check you do not have a conflicting mod installed (detailed explicitly below) before installing.
2. Download the CORE file and script. Download any modules you want in your game. IF you choose to download the AlternateRabbitholeSchools, choose only ONE version.
EA Default (No Uniforms) Mod Version: This version of the mod has no custom uniforms and all schools including private schools have the default uniform settings (everyday). This will allow you to plan an everyday outfit to use for your sim but you'll need to change into it before school like usual.
Choose Snowy Escape Uniform Mod Version: Snowy Escape required. This version of the mod will allow you to choose a Snowy Escape uniform for each age and gender for all private school uniforms. I have prechosen a uniform for each age and gender. If you wish to change it, replace the files in the SnowyEscapeUniform folder with those you'd like instead.
Core (Required) - This is the main file required for the mod to work.
Extracurricular Activities and Events - This adds Sports/Game Night and School Musical as events your Sims can attend after school.
Alternate Schools - This adds four new schools including one private school, one exam school, one independent school, and one alternative school.
Boarding Schools - This adds boarding schools to the game.
Field Trips - This adds six field trips students can attend in lieu of school of certain days.
More Schoolwork Options Compatibility - This option is needed if more school work is installed and one has High School Years installed.
More Schoolwork Options - This requires Parenthood. It adds additional schoolwork options to your sim's homework book as well as different projects they can work on for homework including science projects, art projects, and more.
Preschool - This adds a preschool option for toddlers.
School Breaks and Snow Days - This adds the option for students to get school breaks including a Winter break, Summer Break, as well as Snow Days.
School Day Changes and Possibilities - This adds in school events such as Science Fair, Honor Roll, Arts Show as well as Detention
School Milestone Events - This adds school dances for grade and middle school as well as prom and graduation for those without High School Years pack.
Virtual School - This adds an alternate school that Sims can attend from home
Education Career - This requires Discover University.This includes a revamp of the Education Career.
Education Overhaul/HSY Compatibility - This is required if you have High School Years pack.
Occult School - This is adds an alternate school that Sims can attend if they are occults to learn occult specific experience and gains
Skill and Character Value Gains - This optional file allows your sims to gain skills and character value points when at school
4. If you do not have a pack corresponding to the required pack on the file name, do not install that particular file. The core mod and all modules without packs required in the names are BG compatible.5. Clear Cache
6. For the Snowy Escape Version, I have prechosen a uniform for each age and gender.
If you wish to change it, replace the files in the SnowyEscapeUniform folder with those you'd like instead. The alternative options are in the AlternateSnowyEscapeUniform zip file.
Troubleshooting Instructions
1. If you are using the mod and can't access options, clear your cache and make sure you have the updated general pie menus. If you are looking for cheats, they are under the Action menu.
2. If you get BE UI errors, you are missing the general pie menus and/or the Mood Pack. They are REQUIRED.
3. The Shared Mod tuning files are required. You need ALL of the files unless you either have Private Practice in which case you don't need the GTW file or you use Dynamic Teen Life Addon for HSY Activities in which case you don't need the HSY Activities file. In all other cases, you need all the files. However, you only need one copy so if you use another mod that already includes the files, you only need to install them once.
4. If you are using the mod and get a game error or can't open your game, your download was most likely corrupted by your browser when downloading. You must do the following in order
- Step 1: Delete all iterations of the download from your computer including downloads folder and mods folder
- Step 2: Delete your browser cache
- Step 3: Delete your game folder cache
- Step 4: Delete your resource.cfg (it will be regenerated)
- Load up the game and try again.
- Step 5: If that doesn't work, try downloading from a different browser or the alternate download link in the mod's description post after repeating the first 4 steps.
- Step 6: Load up your game again.
- Step 7: If that doesn't work, try downloading from a different browser and using the alternate download link after repeating the first 4 steps.
- Step 8: Load up your game and try again.
- Step 9: If this does not work, you can try for mod support on Discord.
Compatibility and Conflict Information:
ItsKatato's PreTeen Mod will not conflict.
KS Education Bundle is compatible with one exception: the Better Schools folder will conflict and is not needed with this mod as similar options are included in this mod. Delete the files KS-Better Grade School mod.package and KS-Better High School mod.package. The rest of the Education Bundle is fully compatible.
Kuttoe's Career Overhaul is compatible with this mod with one important exception: the Education Career Goals package in Kuttoe's Career Overhaul. To avoid the issue, simply delete the file Kuttoe_CareerReqs_Education.package found under Kuttoe Career Overhaul Suite- Career Goals/Discovery University Careers. Do not use that package with this mod; they are incompatible and will cause issues. All other portions of the Career Overhaul are fine to use with this mod.
LMS/Scarlet's Subject Homework will not conflict with this.
Shenanagin's Private School Mod will not conflict with this mod. You can withdraw your sims from Private School with this mod but you need to go through the Private School mod's enrollment event to gain entrance. However, if your sim is enrolled in Private School they will still get summer break, a chance for detention, field trips, and school assignments.
My School Milestones mod will conflict with this mod and is not needed with this mod as these options have been reworked and integrated into this mod. Delete that mod!
School Uniforms in Any World by MizoreYuki will not technically conflict but it will cause your Sims to wear Snowy Escape uniforms to public and private school and requires Snowy Escape.
Zerbu's Go to School works with this mod but if you choose to follow your sim to school you will not receive a chance for the additional assignments, new away actions, or receive detention. Those options are only available in the school rabbithole. You will not get the chance to follow your sims to school if enrolled in boarding school or independent/private school. If you aren't getting the popups for Zerbu's mod, rename the Zerbu - Go to School Mod Pack (Old Code) to !Zerbu - Go to School Mod Pack (Old Code) and make sure it's directly in your mods folder.
Zero's Required Degrees for Promotions-UNI package will conflict. The rest of the mod will not.
Zero's Teens Jump to University Mod will conflict. Ilkavelle has a similar mod that does not here.
Zafire's Mandatory School Uniforms will conflict. Please do not use with this mod. That mod has been included in this mod, many thanks to Zafire!
