<p>Hi everyone! I'm entering the 10th grade this year, and I'm really motivated to get accepted into an ivy league alike many others on here. I admire those who graduate in the top 10 or 10 of their class. Do you have any advice? Maybe tips on how to stay focused, study habits, etc.? What I should concentrate on for the next three years?</p>
<p>Thank you so much!</p>
<p>The biggest advice I can give you.</p>
<p>Don’t focus on getting accepted into an ivy league school. Choose a good school that is a right fit for you and if it happens to be an ivy league school then alright. The ivy league is a broad term, simply wanting to get accepted into the ivy league implies that you care about prestige. Especially since there are many other non-ivy league schools that would possibly be a better fit for you overall. </p>
<p>Instead of focusing on say Harvard, focus on doing the best you can. </p>
<p>Think critically about every school subject, especially mathematics and English.
Read constantly. </p>
<p>Keep a few good friends. Don’t start fights. Start studying for the SAT but not crazy (Like all day every day) just a bit here and there if you’d like. You don’t have to really worry about it until junior year Keep the PSAT in mind, if you want the National merit scholarship then find some study guides for it. Collegeboard.com has some stuff on it and you can purchase books. Be a unique student and not just the good grade kind, it will show in your teacher recommendations</p>
<p>Do not join many clubs. Stick with one passion and do extremely well in it.</p>
<p>And best of all, just have fun with it. High school can be some of your best or worst years of your life. It all depends on how you make it.</p>
<p>OH AND ONE MORE THING!!</p>
<p>NEVER
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<p>Take your School Counselor’s word as final. RESEARCH EVERYTHING ON YOUR OWN!!!</p>
<p>The thing is, I DO care about prestige. I come from a prestigious family in my area and one of my top priorities is keeping that prestige as well as pleasing my parents. Cliche, but true. </p>
<p>Haven’t been doing much reading… really need to change that.</p>
<p>I’m deactivating my FB first day of school. But sometimes FB helps because if I’m stuck on a problem, I just go on and ask someone. Then again, it’s very distracting otherwise…</p>
<p>As of right now, I’m in Debate Club and Key Club and definitely joining Book Club and Habitat for Humanity next year. We have 40+ clubs at my school. About how many do you think is average for one student? I have interests in a lot of the clubs, but I don’t want to overload myself. </p>
<p>Freshman year was the best year of my life. I had so much fun and so many great memories, but I know I could have studied a little harder. I’m ranked 84/409 with a 3.89 GPA. PSAT is taken in 10th grade, right?</p>
<p>Thanks again for the advice.</p>
<p>School can be depressing sometimes.
And sometimes you might not get the grade you’ve wanted or you regret some things.</p>
<p>What you need to realize is that everybody experiences mistakes in life. The best advice for getting over regret is realizing what you did wrong and live and let die.</p>
<p>look for clubs and take an active role in them</p>
<p>Oh, school counselors at MY school? Forget about it. That’s why CC is my favorite website.</p>
<p>for some it is the 10th grade, for most it is the 11th grade.</p>
<p>While facebook can be helpful sometimes…(For instance I advertise my writer’s club on there) it is very distracting. I recommend deactivating it and only reactivating for emergencies. Or, if you can demonstrate good self control keep it on. But then again…can you REALLY self control yourself? It’s a hard thing to do sometimes.</p>
<p>The average for a student I’d say is around 3-4? But really just do the clubs that you’re really passionate about. Ask yourself, would you still commit to this club the same way even after you’ve been accepted to said college? Or would you lose interest the minute that Acception/denied letter comes? </p>
<p>As for your family and prestige, I have a two-sided opinion on this one. Wanting to maintain the prestige in your family and making your parents proud is a powerful motivator, which ultimately would keep your steam going throughout your entire high school life.</p>
<p>But wanting to go to a college simply for prestige is not a great idea…</p>
<p>My advice for you is that it would probably be best to keep this way of thinking. Afterall, if you get accepted to say Harvard and you go solely because of the name, you might fall in love with the campus for what it offers when your actually in.</p>
<p>Just keep a handful of safeties and great colleges that you would love to go to if you get denied to your dream college and everything will work out right.</p>
<p>Scratch what I said about going to a college for prestige.</p>
<p>Don’t do that, look at a college that is the best fit for you regardless of prestige.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if you don’t keep your family’s tradition of prestige and your parents should be proud of you no matter what you do. If they don’t then they have to work out some issues.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely deactivate my FB. Reactive for super emergencies only. </p>
<p>I have a good 3-4 clubs in mind. Not sure, I’ll see when school reopens. </p>
<p>For now I’m not going to focus on WHICH college I want to go to, but rather try and be the best student I can possibly be as well as being well-rounded. My parents will be happy in whatever decision I make. I’m worried about setting an example for my young friends and family who I know look up to me. I want them to be motivated and I want to set a great example for them.</p>
<p>Be nice. Get good grades. Sleep well. Have fun.</p>
<p>Make sure to get at least 8 hrs of sleep each night, it’ll allow you to stay focused and think clearly.</p>
<p>Do what you’re passionate about, but don’t shirk the requirements.</p>
<p>Sleep is so important. Freshmen year was such a breeze for me, but sophomore year became my social year, things changed a lot. This past year I really got involved and fell into the habit of doing homework past 11:00 and not studying for tests. It hurt me first semester, but I changed it all second semester.</p>
<p>Have strict homework periods. That’s something that always gets me. Be unique too, don’t be your typical student. Find unique passions that you enjoy and fit you.</p>
<p>if you quit smoking you add 10 years to your life</p>
<p>so quit over and over and youll live forever</p>
<p>Clubs… Don’t restrict yourself to doing just a few, especially early on. Give some a try that you normally wouldn’t; you might find a new passion and you’ll gain some perspective. Of course, if you’re already deeply involved in just a few and have already found a worthy passion, then so be it. Concentrate on those.</p>
<p>Sleep… This is different for everyone. Some say they need a lot of sleep otherwise they do poorly due to tiredness/lack of concentration, but personally I found 5-6 hours/night acceptable, maybe less if I had to. I found immense satisfaction in giving it my all in all the clubs I participated in and performing assignments to perfection even when they were worth a 5 point homework grade or that extra hour I spent on a lab report brought me up just a percent or two. Though, if you’re one of those people that really needs the sleep, opt for that instead and try to learn to prioritize.</p>
<p>Prestige… I’m kind of in a similar spot right now (but as a rising senior), but fortunately for me the pieces pretty much fell into place. I truly researched and visited colleges with an unbiased approach, and, for the most part, my list of colleges to apply to practically ended up corresponding with their relative rankings (thus I don’t have to choose between fit and prestige, unfortunately that sort of means I could end up with neither, hah). But really, don’t worry about this until at least late Junior year; until then the approach you mentioned (being the best student you can be, etc) will be fine.</p>
<p>Oh, and, have some fun. It’ll give you something to look forward to in the nearer future and will help you stay afloat.</p>