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Tips For Getting Through High School As A Freshman

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According to studies, it is reported that 60-70% of students feel nervous or anxious for a new school year. It is normal to feel scared or worried about a new school year since there are new classes, teachers, and maybe a new environment for some, especially if you are going into your freshman year. Here are some tips from a previous freshman to get you through your freshman year of high school and to help ease your worries. 

Making new friends is essential in school, and freshman year has got to be the most important year for a few reasons. Freshman year is when most people start forming their friend groups, so after freshman year, it might be more challenging to try and find your crowd because people have already found their people. However, that is only sometimes the case and you can still be in a friend group after freshman year, but it is best to make new friends during freshman year. Furthermore, if you enter your freshman year of high school with a group of friends, there is a high chance that you will not end your high school with the same group of friends. People change, and it’s a reason why many friend groups that enter high school together don’t last, and this was the case for my friend group. So don’t worry if your friend group is falling apart!

Academics are also as important as making friends in my freshman year of high school! Unlike middle school, in high school, your grades matter, so the way you manage your grades is important. To get a good grade and keep it there, there are a few things you should do, but the most important one is paying attention in class. If you pay attention in class, you will actually learn things and it will make it very easy for you when doing your assignments or tests. Of course, you can have fun during class too, but try to keep it so that you pay attention when you need to pay attention. Another major tip for keeping your grades high is to turn in your work on time! As a student who has procrastinated multiple times before, I learned the hard way that if you postpone your homework or your assignments, it will stress you so much when you have to do it late at night. You do not want to be up at 11 pm in the night rushing an assignment that takes a week to do, but you’re rushing to turn it in at 12 pm because you didn’t do it. However, academics don’t define who you are and you shouldn’t be over-exerting your body and brain if you can not handle the workload. Your well-being is more important.

Getting enough sleep will help you out with so many things in school, especially academics, so getting enough sleep is extremely crucial. If you lack sleep, you can’t focus during class because you are so tired, so your grade might plummet. So, set up a sleep routine that allows you to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.

Finally, there are lots of people in high school that are judgemental and they might make your high school experience not as fun. However, if you just stop caring about what people think about you, then it will make your high school life so much easier! Don’t let others ruin your high school experience! 

Hopefully, these will help you make your high school years worthwhile or at least ease your worries about starting high school. Your life as a student is not forever, so make it worthwhile by enjoying your high school years.

Advice from a Rising Senior

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As junior year came to an end, the long awaited college application season was just around the corner. I began to research the various aspects of the application and selection process for colleges, and I realized that my application was lacking in various areas. As a first generation student, I have navigated high school largely on my own without the advice of my parents or older siblings. As I approach the college application season, there are many things that I wish people had told me my freshman year of high school that would have greatly boosted my college applications. I would like to share these with others who are in high school and in need of guidance.

Join Clubs Freshman Year

Throughout my first two years of high school, I mostly focused on sports as my main extracurricular activities. I played soccer and ran cross country and track my freshman and sophomore years, which left me with almost no time for other actives or clubs. As an underclassman, I did not realize the importance and necessity of joining clubs that pertained to my interests. Last year, my junior year, I joined many clubs such as CSF, NHS, Mock Trial, and my school’s debate club. Although now I have many clubs and activities to write about on my college applications, I have only been involved in each club for around a year. In the college application process, the deans of admission look for consistency in a student’s applications. This is why I recommend joining clubs during your freshman year and remaining a part of them throughout your four years of high school. Moreover, not only will joining clubs your freshman year demonstrate consistency, but it will also allow you to have more leadership opportunities as an upperclassman, which is very important when applying to college.

Stick With Your Sport

Whether you’ve been playing a sport since you were five or decided to join a sport in high school, it is very important to be consistent and stick to at least one sport throughout high school. My freshman year, I played soccer and ran cross county and track. The next year, my sophomore year, I ran cross country and played soccer. Lastly, my junior year, I ran track and field. Although I have always played a sport in high school, jumping back and forth between sports does not demonstrate consistency to a dean of admissions. Despite having my personal reasons for making these decisions regarding sports, a dean of admissions will probably see it as a lack of dedication and consistency. To any underclassman, I suggest sticking to one sport throughout high school.

Challenge Yourself

Before high school, I had always been very hesitant to try new things or step outside of my comfort zone. Luckily, I had some very good mentors and teachers that pushed me to challenges myself and step outside of my comfort zone. They pushed me to take on challenging classes, some of which I never would have thought of taking. Sometimes, my fear of failing or of not receiving an A in a course would stop me from challenging myself. However, I learned that with hardworking, persistence, and dedication, any class in high school is doable. When looking at your application, the dean of admissions will look at the rigor of the courses that you took in high school. More often than not, a transcript with difficult classes and lower grades is much more impressive than a transcript with easy classes and higher grades. For those entering their sophomore year, I suggest taking on a more rigorous course load in order to boost their future applications.

Always Try Your Best

Despite being first in my class and having nearly all A’s throat high school, I will always be plagued by the two Bs I received in math during my freshman and sophomore years. During my first two years in high school, I was always very preoccupied with sports and oftentimes I would end up not finishing my school work because I was too tired to put in the work. Had I dedicated just another hour of my time to trust understand and master the concepts, I know I could have easily received an A in both courses. However, at the time, I did not think much of it and since I had been accustomed to receiving As without too much effort, I did not put as much effort as I should have. Although there are only two Bs on my transcript, I do wish that I would have put in just a little more effort in order to have a perfect transcript. These two Bs might not have as much as an impact on my college decisions as I may think, but it has affected my confidence level when applying.

All in all, high school is a time to find your interests and passions in order to pursue them in college and beyond, which is why I suggest immersing yourself in as many new activities and hobbies as possible. The goal should be to have fun and enjoy your time in high school, while building up your future college applications.

-Yvette C.