Over the years, I have asked my students to come up with valid and helpful advice to give the incoming students. Here are some helpful tips from past Gifted students on how to make high school life enjoyable, manageable, and successful!
Expert Advice:
Gifted Expert, Sandra Berger, M.Ed., explains important steps high school students can accomplish to be successful towards college acceptance. Click on the link below to access her article.
Your 9th Grade year is your most important year in high school because it sets a foundation for your whole high school career.
Don’t spend your nights watching Netflix, instead do your homework!!!!!
Work hard your freshman year because it’s the easiest year of high school.
Don’t be mean to Ms. French or no one will like you.
Choose your fights wisely.
Have friends that are upperclassmen, too.
Don’t make your teachers hate you…Or they can make you miserable.
Play lots of sports and get involved with extracurricular activities and clubs.
Try to find enjoyment in school.
Know where all the bathrooms are on campus.
Stay away from dramatic people.
Always keep your cool.
Don’t annoy the upperclassmen .
Don’t make enemies with any teachers.
Make as many friends as you can.
Study hard.
Do your homework.
Don’t engage in suspicious activities.
Don’t drink from the fountains.
Don’t trip in the hallway, you might not survive.
Don’t wear sunglasses inside.
Get all the brownie points.
Just because the onion rings are free doesn’t mean you should get as many as you can.
Always be nice to Upperclassmen.
Work hard to keep your GPA up.
Stay out of trouble, try to avoid drama.
Dress out in Gym class.
Always show respect towards your teachers.
Stay on track with your work, don’t get behind or you will never catch up.
Come to class!
How to Survive Your Sophomore Year
In addition to the above advice...
Don’t let guidance counselors make your decisions. If you think you’re ready for a class, go for it. Listen to their advice, but if you disagree, don’t take it.
Stay one step ahead of other students. They will come to you for help which will look good to your teachers.
Try taking an AP class. Getting college credits early is always a good thing! But if you don’t think you’ll pass, don’t overwhelm yourself by taking it.
Don’t slack off on homework. No matter how much your homework is worth for your final grade—15%, 20%—don’t “forget” to turn it in. They’re usually easy-A’s and can make or break your grade in that class.
Figure out which teachers you can influence. They’ll never admit this, but some teachers may give you a little extra time if you were absent for an assignment if they like you.
Stay organized. It is easy to forget an assignment—with a planner, you won’t.
Join a club. A lot of clubs give you major community service hours! Try the Amnesty International Society!
Participate in Homecoming Week. A) It’s fun. B) Only seniors have won so far… go for gold!
Plan for the future. It’s never too early to plan for college. Make some decisions now, like what you want on your resume, so that you can start getting them there.
Just have fun! Take it easy. It’s not as bad as some make it out to be. And it’s not the end of the world if you make a bad grade on a test. Just try your best, make friends, spend time with your family, and don’t lose too much sleep!
Do your work.
Don’t procrastinate.
Work out. If you look good you feel good… + having a healthy body improves mental function.
Eating broccoli IS good for you.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but that doesn’t mean you can skip out on lunch. Fill up.
If people don’t like you, it’s their loss.
Don’t have fun in high school. Focus on getting into college. Then you have fun!
Don’t have a girlfriend/boyfriend. They just suck up the moola.
Get your driver’s license ASAP. Makes life easier.
Take online classes to supplement your physical classes if you can. Especially AP. Free college bro.
Don’t let the guidance counselor dictate your life! Take charge!
Study. Study. And then study some more.
Sleep is for the weak (just kidding… sort of).
Don’t forget to spend time with friends and family- balance is everything!
Don’t try to be all things to all people! You’ll get burnt out.
Homecoming is huge, don’t miss out! Participate.
Find a good lunch table. No one wants to sit by the trashcans.
Take care of your campus because this will be your home away from home.
It’s never too early to start planning for college.
Have fun (but not too much fun) and don’t take things too seriously!
How to Survive Your Junior Year
In addition to the above advice...
Study the footnotes in the Norton Reader for Literature class.
Study a little every night.
Get good grades.
Get AP Review books to study for the exams.
Pay to take the PSAT to possibly become a National Merit Scholar.
Be yourself.
Have fun during Homecoming week.
Tour colleges.
Take the SAT and ACT.
Don’t open your gum packet in front of people.
KNOW YOUR PLACE.
Turn in all homework to get the free points.
Take rigorous classes, especially AP and dual enrollment.
Establish good relationships with your teachers.
Learn your teachers teaching styles.
Start Community Service NOW.
Do NOT care what others think of you.
Don’t let boys/girls distract you, school is more important.
Join all the clubs you can!!
Sitting alone at the lunch table for the first five minutes will not kill you.
Visit and tour colleges.
Do your homework. Seriously, do it.
Study hard for AP exams.
Build up your resume.
Don’t anger your teachers.
Apply early to colleges.
Don’t procrastinate.
Don’t stress out!
Participate in summer college programs.
Work with your guidance counselor to create a college game plan that you will follow Junior/Senior year.
How to Survive Your Senior Year
In addition to the above advice...
Find a hobby or something you like to do that relieves stress! For example, playing a sport or listening to music or working out.
Apply to colleges as early as possible! I suggest starting the summer before your senior year, if possible.
Do your homework.
Be nice to everyone, to their face and behind their back. You will have to deal with so much less drama and it really will pay off for you in the end, for example, when students and teachers are voting for the many different awards senior year.
Record everything you do throughout the 4 years, so when you go to make your resume during your senior year you won’t have to try to remember things from freshman year (3 years ago).
Find an extracurricular activity that you truly enjoy to do, so that you have something you can identify with and put on your resume and use to connect with other students and teachers.
Get your community service hours completed as soon as possible.
Don’t get hung up on what other people think about you, you’re only going to know them for 4 more short years or less.
Get generic recommendation letters from teachers during your junior or senior year, so you can use the same letter for multiple applications or if you’re applying for a college or scholarship at the last minute you don’t have to worry about getting one at the last minute (etiquette is to ask a teacher for the letter at least a week before you need it).
Enjoy each and every year and every day of every year! I know school can suck sometimes, but make the best of it, because you will be graduating before you know it and you’ll never get these 4 years back!
Don’t be lazy.
Apply for scholarships.
Get involved!!! ( you will regret it if especiallay come time to make your resume).
Apply for scholarships.
Be nice to Mrs. French!!!
Apply for scholarships.
Get community service hours ASAP.
Study, cramming stinks!
Apply for scholarships.
Have fun in gifted, it is the BEST class at the school!!!
Be your teacher’s friend so that they will accept your late work without penalty.
If you do tutoring for said teacher, you will receive brownie points and more lenience.
Try to avoid senioritis at least until you receive your college acceptances.
Actually fill out the scholarship applications in guidance. The more $$ you have for college, the less headache you will have.
Don’t care about what your peers think about you. Have a good time; you’ll never see those losers again.
If you get a job, just remember that school comes before work.
Don’t overburden yourself with clubs and community service. Senior year is a precarious balancing act of grades, applications, and work.
Act responsibly. Don’t jeopardize your future over one party that will be legal in a couple years.
Don’t stress out if you don’t get accepted into your dream college. Everything happens for a reason!
Participate in every school function that you can. You will want to be able to look back on all of your awesome high school memories.
Above Image Credits: 1. Body of Water by Robert Villalta, courtesy of pexels.com, CCO License All images on this site are courtesy of public domain and CCO license, mostly from pixabay.com.