<p>(sorry if I posted this incorrectly )</p>
<p>do any of you Sophmores, Juniors, or Seniors have advice for surviving freshman year? (socially + academically)</p>
<p>Don’t stop walking in the middle of the hallway. Single most important rule of high school! Nobody likes “that kid.”</p>
<p>Work hard first, have fun second. You can’t undo an academically bad freshman year. You will not regret it. </p>
<p>Get involved early. Join clubs freshman year, not junior year. Do things you love, not what looks best on a college app</p>
<p>Get to know teachers. Unless you go to a huge school, this can have a huge impact. A teacher that respects/likes you can go a long way. You don’t have to be a teachers pet but try not to be that kid that never talks in class. At least for me, having teachers that like/respect you and vice versa can really motivate you to work hard. </p>
<p>Socially, don’t start drama. Don’t be THAT freshman that everyone hates.</p>
<p>Hope I’ve helped!</p>
<p>^^ THIS TIMES A THOUSAND.</p>
<p>DO: Get involved in ECs, Make impressions on your teachers, do community service.
Don’ts: Obsess over schoolwork or relationships etc have fun, don’t get lazy at any point during the year. I’ll post more as i see if the post gets more hits ;)</p>
<p>Don’t be annoying or super loud or stupid.</p>
<p>Upperclassmen will like/tolerate you then :P</p>
<p>Don’t think you’re superior to sophomores or any upperclassmen. They’ll think you’re being a snob. But also don’t let anyone belittle you just because you’re a freshman. My two cents, even though I’m only a sophomore :P</p>
<p>I really don’t think you should worry too much about academics or take yourself too seriously freshman year. And this is coming from a person who messed up a lot in freshman year by not doing work and probably missed out on some top schools because of it. Though I regret letting it get so bad, I still think that a 14-year-old is a kid and should be allowed–and expected–to act like one. Don’t grow up too fast and find that ou missed out on being a kid!</p>
<p>Do: Join clubs that are interesting to you, be nice to everyone, and do your work.
Don’t: Don’t crowd up the hallways with your friends, don’t act like you’re some hot-shot, don’t start unnecessary drama (two freshman girls got into a fist fight because the one was trying to steal the other’s boyfriend and they started pulling each other’s hair–funniest and most ridiculous thing ever :p) and don’t be afraid to talk to the upperclassmen. Generally, we don’t bite. 
I’m a rising senior.</p>
<p>Don’t be obnoxious. </p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>There is this freshman in one of my class who constantly talks about how HE’S going to harvard, and how HIS parents donate money to harvard meaning 110% guarantee to be accepted, and how HIS SISTER is going to john hopkins making him more superior to everyone else. Then when I’m just OKAY OKAY WE GET THE POINT, YOU ARE GOING TO HARVARD. Then he talks about how “rich” he is. And how he has an ipad, a rolex watch, 2105180573 full blown suits, how he HATE blue jeans (“ugh! I can’t stand that material near my skin!”), how his shampoo is like $200 per bottle, etc.</p>
<p>Just don’t be obnoxious. And you’ll survive. See how simple that is?</p>
<p>Dont get In School Suspension haha…actually kinda fun</p>
<p>If I could kill whatever thoughts about prestige in my head, I would. </p>
<p>I’ll leave the don’t up to you.
A semi-don’t if I killed those thoughts: High school shouldn’t be about getting all the awards, having a high GPA, building your college application, and doing unwanted work/jobs.</p>
<p>Do: Meet new friends, explore the many subjects and try to find a major, participate in things you love to do. I’d call myself an introverted person to some extent, but I learned how to talk and meet other people–try hanging out with other cliques sometimes and get to know them. Be a role model, a positive influence to others.</p>
<p>Don’t be one of those freshmen who gets all upset if/when upperclassmen boo you at pep rallies or whatever. Seriously, a little bit of good-natured hazing isn’t going to kill you; it didn’t kill us. </p>
<p>Just don’t be annoying, and you’ll survive.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! I was really nervous about being a freshman, but this made me feel a little better. After messing up in middle school, I need to do well in high school, but I’ll try to have some fun while I’m at it.</p>
<p>Don’t get caught up in any drama and find clubs! My school had freshman class and we organize our class events like ring dance. Its great to be apart of. Relationships can be cool but they cause drama. Just stay focused but have fun</p>
<p>Act like your age, but be mature at the times when you need to be. Don’t act younger, and please don’t act older! That annoys upperclassmen. If you’re a girl, keep your respect. You don’t need to sleep around and get involved with upperclassmen guys just to raise your social status. Find your niche, do something you love and run with it. Keep a great close group of friends! Your friends determine your success too because they motivate you. Don’t get all pushed into the pressure of popularity, it doesn’t matter. If you want to be popular, be nice to everyone, smart, be someone anyone can talk to by being yourself! Have fun too. Soon enough you’ll be a rising senior like me giving advice like right now and wishing to be where you are. :)</p>
<p>Unless you’re a stereotypical CCer who’s taking linear algebra and quantum physics his freshman year, don’t complain to AP students about how hard your classes are. Their classes are probably much harder than yours, and they might be working 20 hours a week on top of that. But do ask them for advice. Most of the time, they’ll be more than happy to help freshmen out.</p>
<p>Honestly, as long as you don’t act like “that” freshman, most people don’t care what grade you’re in. Sure they may chant something about freshmen sucking at pep rallies, but they don’t really mean it. As long as you act like a decent human being, you’ll get along with most people. </p>
<p>Don’t be surprised when everyone around you starts changing. You’ll change as well. And thank god for that, because in three months you’ll see some 8th grades in the mall and think, there was no way I was THAT annoying. Well you were, and unless you let yourself mature, you still will be. </p>
<p>Remember, unless your parents make less than $65k a year and you manage to get into Harvard, this is the last time in your life your education will be free. Don’t screw it up. Do your homework, study for tests, take challenging classes. AP/IB classes now can save you tens of thousands of dollars down the road. </p>
<p>Your high school offers more resources than you might think. Clubs offer you a chance to meet people with similar interests and passions. If it’s a statewide or national club, there will be conventions and fun gatherings where you’ll get the opportunity to meet students from various high schools. Take advantage of that. Develop a close relationship with at least two teachers. They can give you the low down on what’s going on, and at times be a surrogate parent (trust me, that’s a good thing, especially when you need adult advice and don’t feel comfortable going to your parents). </p>
<p>Most importantly, don’t believe the movies. Sure high schools have cliques, but no one cares if the “popular girl” competes in math competitions. At some big high schools, like mine, you can easily graduate not knowing half the people in your class. That means that even if the most OMGZ juicy gossip drama story comes out about you, 95% of the school won’t give a crap.</p>
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<p>Conversely, if you’re taking AP classes, don’t complain about how hard they are, especially to your best friends/friends who AREN’T taking AP classes. A little bit of complaining is fine, but constant complaining/complaining over trivial things is just really obnoxious. You signed up for it, and you have to deal with it. I chose not to take AP classes, don’t guilt-trip me over it or expect me to feel bad. And I might be your best friend forever, but complaining all the time just negatively impacts the relationship.</p>
<p>The above is true for just about anything. Don’t complain. And as someone else said, dear lord please walk in the hallway, don’t stop, don’t stop to talk with friends, stay to the right, and walk as fast as you can. Slow freshman are an upperclassman’s nightmare. Learn the art of the moving conversation.</p>
<p>Though this may have been said already, if you are – or feel like you are – socially inept, don’t try to socialize often. Doing that will more than likely hurt you, as it hurt me and really messed me up.</p>
<p>-Take the hardest classes you think you can handle, particularly if they’re prerequisites for later advanced classes. If there’s some test that they administer to determine your aptitude, study for it, even if they tell you not to. If you don’t, there WILL be people in more advanced classes than you, and sometimes they’ll brag about it. Plus, they’ll have better shots at competitive colleges among your school (if you care about that) because they’ll stand out. Do be fairly careful of your grades - they are important - but they’re less important in freshman year than any time until second semester of senior year.
-Attend as many clubs as possible early on to get a feel for something you’ll like, and try to commit to one or two by the end of the year.
-Don’t be a jerk, but don’t be overly submissive either. People will learn to take advantage of you.
-Class rank does matter (unfortunately), but try not to be bitter at anyone who has a higher rank than you or to brag at anyone who has a lower rank.
-Don’t do anything to make yourself seem overly immature, because that will follow you around for a long time. However, it’s not the end of the world, and it’ll all be gone the second you graduate.</p>
<p>Everyone has already covered most everything, so I’ll leave this: limit your time on CC. Seriously. Don’t get sucked in and don’t let it eat your time.</p>
<p>Best of luck! Have fun, stay on top of your classes, and learn time management sooner rather than later!</p>