<p>Hello, I'm a student getting ready to enter high school and I'm wondering what I need to study for or research in order to prepare for high school. Any tips on what to do? I'm quite lost and I don't want to enter high school then take some beginning of the year exam only to fail it miserably then ruin my GPA even more (Algebra in middle school killed it with average B-).</p>
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<li>Get some perspective. I don’t like it when people push freshmen away from this site entirely, but there’s no need for the passive-aggressive bragging over how a B- in eighth grade ruined your life. It doesn’t make you look smart, it just makes you look petty. </li>
<li>It’s okay to do badly on an individual test once in awhile, especially at the beginning of the year. I’ve failed plenty of tests. Just worry about the final grade on your transcript.</li>
<li>Do ECs. This is the main thing I’d change about my freshman year. I was too shy to join anything. </li>
<li>Don’t write your essays or try to decide where you want to go to college yet. You’re going to change a lot in the next three years.</li>
<li>Plan your schedule out a little and make sure you’re on track to meet all the graduation requirements and college requirements. For example, my school doesn’t require a foreign language to graduate, so I didn’t start taking one until sophomore year, but it would have been easier if I had because colleges recommend having three or four years.</li>
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<p>Im in the same situation as you…i had a high B 
in Algebra…and that’s pretty horrible for me and my parents were pretty disappointed and so was I…I would study math topics…assuming ur taking geometry…??? You can watch math videos, take a summer course…Geometry includes the study of shapes, angles, lines, and proofs with theorems and polstulates…I’m taking honors Geometry next year so I took a summer course and I feel prepared.</p>
<p>Also halyconheather is right…Its a not the best grade…don’t live in the past but i don’t think ur really bragging…ur just giving perspective</p>
<p>What would ECs mean? I’m assuming it’s a club. </p>
<p>@Star: I don’t know where to take summer courses for math other than online such as Khansacademy, do you mind referring me to other places? Or any books that would help?</p>
<p>Any other subjects would be appreciated.</p>
<p>ECs or extracurricular activities are things you do outside of school hours like clubs, sports, maybe music lessons, volunteering etc.</p>
<p>BYU has online classes for high school students. I have heard really good things about them but they might be a little pricey for some.</p>
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<p>Extracurriculars. Anything productive you do outside of class, basically. Doesn’t have to be a club and doesn’t have to take place in school. </p>
<p>Some examples (not an exhaustive list): athletics, music, school clubs, volunteering, paid job, writing stuff and getting it published, math/science competitions, independent research with a professor, summer program/internship. </p>
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</p>
<p>Free resources:
[MIT</a> OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials](<a href=“http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm]MIT”>MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials)
<a href=“https://www.udacity.com/[/url]”>https://www.udacity.com/</a>
[Free</a> video lectures,Free Animations, Free Lecture Notes, Free Online Tests, Free Lecture Presentations](<a href=“http://www.learnerstv.com%5DFree”>http://www.learnerstv.com)</p>
<p>Courses you pay for:
[Education</a> Program for Gifted Youth](<a href=“http://epgy.stanford.edu/]Education”>http://epgy.stanford.edu/)
[Programs</a> & Courses | JHU CTY](<a href=“http://cty.jhu.edu/programs/]Programs”>Gifted and Talented Programs | Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY))
[Art</a> of Problem Solving (AoPS)](<a href=“http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/]Art”>http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/)</p>
<p>You’ll find out that freshmen year is the same as 8th grade really. It’s what you make it to be also. If you decide to take really hard classes, it will be difficult. But ultimately, high school is not cool.</p>
<p>I got two A-'s in middle school. In high school I got all A’s. Things work out better sometimes. I don’t know how I prepped for freshman year. I guess I went with the flow?</p>
<p>Its really not different than 8th grade. I had great teachers at my old school but once I got to high school you could get some really horrible ones. But thats probably just me.</p>
<p>Take the most rigorous schedule you can handle
get all the As you can (don’t get lazy and take a B)
Do ECs
Start kinda looking over SAt
be social :)</p>
<p>Get involved, study hard, and stay away from drugs. It’s pretty simple</p>
<p>Do ECs. That is one of the things I would change about my freshman year. Do not try to act older then you are, High School will get harder, and nobody wants to hear a freshman complain. </p>
<p>Don’t think about college. Do the classes you want to take, as long as you challenge yourself. </p>
<p>Have fun! Go out on Fridays, go to concerts, meet new people! I think that on this site, the majority of people do not want to go out, and don’t experience the “typical” high school experience. I’m not saying that its good or bad, but experience new things. Life starts at the end of your comfort zone.</p>
<p>And go our right now and have a great summer, you will probably lose touch with a lot of your friends (my experience)</p>
<p>Start your ECs early. You don’t want to start thinking about them in junior year, when you’ll be busy with the SAT, PSAT, and AP classes. Also, there is a thread for rising freshman (Class of 2017 thread), where you can connect with other rising freshman and ask any questions. Anyway, good luck! :)</p>
<p>I feel as though I can provide you with advice regarding what should ABSOLUTELY NOT be done. I can also provide you with advice as to what you should DEFINITELY do.
DO NOT:
- Procrastinate on your assignments. During the beginning of the year, I procrastinated like no one in the history of this world ever has. I would get assigned a project or a paper and I would not start until the night before it was due. Even then I would watch Netflix and then get started at midnight on the assignment. I got B’s mostly as well as some C’s. You will be exhausted. And unless you can pull all-nighters or last on 4 hours of sleep, don’t go down the same path.
- Neglect studying. If you are not sure about one small thing, YOU MUST STUDY. Your understanding is the key to passing absolutely any class. Yes the small thing can change everything. In a certain subject all the sub-topics seem to connect to the bigger picture or concept at hand. Heed my warning because when you get to the next chapter and there is that tone of progression happening, you will hate it. It will be assumed that you know what is going on and there is more being added on. This is very common with the sciences. NOBODY in my Honors Biology class read the textbook and they had managed to maintain straight-D averages in the class.
- Slack off and put in little time and the slightest effort. If you do not put in effort, you will have the most horrible time handing that assignment or project in. You will feel as though you could have done better. Couple that with the feeling of relief after you tell yourself “I finally finished it and I’m okay,” and you will feel much worse. You will have realized that you could have done SO MUCH better and you would still be fine in the end and just that much more satisfied. You will realize that while you could have accomplished so much, you did not really work to the bone or unleash your potential.
- Avoid asking questions. If you are confused, you better raise your hand or look it up. Don’t worry about coming off as stupid. You would not at all for you are making an effort to understand the subject of study as much as you possibly can. This just increases your understanding and you have finally made that realization. You can finally, with a complete understanding, connect the dots. That is called learning.
- Neglect your passions. If there is a club you want to join and you are shy, well to hell with your anxiety. You have to get out there. If you are there pursuing your passion, that will be your main concern. That will take you farther than social anxiety and sitting in a corner worrying about what they would think. It would also reduce the anxiety during the college application process during which you will ask yourself “Do I come off as passionate ?” or “Do I have enough ECs?” And then your brain explodes.
- Do drugs, take alcohol, party,and all that other unimportant crap. Why are you in high school? To obtain an education that will be the green light for passing you on to college. You are not there to walk in drunk or puke all over the hallway floors. 99% of the world’s civilians do not have access to college. So I wouldn’t waste your time if I were you. You have an opportunity that many would kill for. Play your cards right and you will succeed. Mess up on a move on the board and those opportunities will disappear as you get closer to your demise.
DO: - Prepare for 9th grade over the summer. If there is a subject you are fretting over, you’ve got to prepare. Learn the basics first and then proceed by learning a taste of the complicated material. First of all, you will breeze through the basics. Secondly, you will have a refresher when it comes to the more complicated material. Than you could use that to apply your concepts and understanding to the new material that will be taught to you. You must do this because EVERY high school has those teachers that don’t actually teach you or are quite the fast paced ones.
- Complete the assigned reading. There may be pop quizzes. And obscure questions may be asked, especially if you are dealing with an Honors English/AP Lit./Lang. class. As for science, since the concepts build upon eachother, this will make for a much easier time in the class and you will be quick in terms of reference and you will completely understand what is going on during the labs.
- Brush up on current events. If you are taking any honors humanities classes, you will have quite the number of papers to write. They will always ask you to make connections so a keen understanding at what is going on in your world is imperative to making a connection that truly does make sense.
- Start your summer reading now if you haven’t. You WILL be tested.
- Annotate your books in English or History. Annotate in general actually. You will understand everything better since you will break it apart and question things. This works well with theme essays and science labs since you will progress more effectively in terms of each concept and how it applies to your lab.
- Remember the basics. Good hygiene and the willingness to learn. Do not slack off. This is not the eighth grade. And honey, I do not care if you are applying to Stanford or Princeton. The unimportant freshman year is the foundation for the rest of your high school years. (Wow I am such a hypocrite.)
- Only pursue ECs that you have passion for/are interested in. You will constantly drop them throughout the years if you do not care for them. And padding doesn’t work. Really try and navigate your passions. Colleges really do know if you are padding and they would much rather have a student who is ready to decide what they are doing. I know we follow a liberal arts system, but that is really the cherry on top of deciding what you would like to major in. Some level of commitment is expected. Just don’t spread yourself too thin.
- Be kind and friendly to others. You may have to work with them and no one likes to survive this journey alone.
- Volunteer. If you are caring for a cause and can be some help, why not?
- Don’t ever give up. Effort is crucial to surviving and your work will be of a higher quality which helps with your grades.
- The minute you are assigned a project or paper, you best be planning it out. A gameplan is always great and effective. If you have a lot of time then spread it out. Work on something part by part and take it slow. If it is simple and doable, start is immediately and feel free to go quick. You will have gotten it over with.
- If you have math and science classes that are accelerated or honors/AP, you have to constantly practice. Practice, practice,practice!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. You will get it when you have to start learning about the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium. And the genetics problems are good to just review.</p>
<ol>
<li>Work hard but not too hard. Take courses that are challenging, not just courses that are easy A classes. Colleges look at how rigorous your schedule is. However, don’t overwork yourself. Know your limits or you could really make yourself miserable. I overloaded my schedule last year and oh boy was that bad. It was so stressful, I never had time to enjoy life and I started binge eating to cope with the stress. </li>
<li>Don’t be so obsessed with grades like I was. Work hard and do the very best you can. Do everything you can to make A’s. But there will likely come a class where you’ll work your butt off an still get a B or even a C. IT WILL BE OKAY. don’t freak out and cry. You will live, your GPA will be fine and life will go on. </li>
<li>VOLUNTEER. volunteer. Volunteer. Volunteer. VOL. UN. TEER. </li>
<li>Join clubs and sports that you like. It looks good when you stick with an EC for 3 or 4 years. It shows commitment. Try to obtain a leadership position in a couple clubs. Colleges want to see you leading the pack and standing out. </li>
<li>Make time to be a kid. Seriously this is so important. Don’t be so intense that you can’t enjoy high school. Don’t spend every weekend alone in your room studying. Go to football games on Fridays with your friends. Go to the homecoming dance. Be silly with your friends and enjoy your last 4 years of living at home, being with your friends, and having few responsibilities. You’re only young once. It’s so important to find a balance between school, extra curriculars, and free time with friends or just relaxing. </li>
<li>Take the PSAT sophomore year and be serious about it. If you do well, you could become a National Merit Scholar and get scholarships. </li>
<li>This is non- academic but, you most likely will enter high school and graduate from high school with difference friends. You and your best friend since 6th grade might grow apart. That’s completely normal if that happens. People do a lot of growing and changing during these 4 years. </li>
<li>Don’t change yourself for anyone but you. If you want to do something to improve yourself for YOU, then by all means proceed. But don’t change yourself for a guy. Don’t change who you are to fit in or because someone is bullying you and you think it’ll make them stop. Be proud of who you are and if others can’t accept it then they don’t belong in your life. The people who matter won’t ask you to change. The same people who call you nerdy will be looking at you for help when they fail algebra. You won’t see 99% of these kids ever again in 4 years. Don’t change for them. Being popular isn’t a huge deal. It will last for about 3 years and then you graduate. It’s not worth selling your soul over. </li>
<li>It’s okay to not have a boyfriend even if all your friends do. It’s okay to graduate without ever having a boyfriend. Most guys are drama anyway. There’s nothing wrong with you if guys aren’t asking you out. Smart girls can be intimidating. You really aren’t missing out on anything without having a boyfriend though. It’s so much easier to focus on school without one. </li>
<li>(Back to academics 
)
Don’t be scared of AP or IB classes! They aren’t as scary as they seem. Talk to the teacher of the class and past students of the class and ask what the workload is like. My biggest advice for APs is THE TEXTBOOK IS YOUR FRIEND. AP classes were the first classes that I actually had to read the textbook. It can be such a helpful resource. The review books for the AP tests are very good and I definitely recommend them. Don’t wait until the last minute to look over those because you can definitely get overwhelmed. </li>
<li>Get to know your guidance counselor and get to know your teachers. They’ll be writing recommendations for college applications, summer programs, and scholarships for you. It would be hard for them to write a good recommendation for you if they don’t know you. </li>
<li>Don’t freak out about getting into selective colleges. Definitely strive to get into Columbia or Stanford if that’s a school that you love. Just don’t become obsessed with big name schools. It’s okay if you don’t get in to the big name schools that you apply to. The “average” schools in your state will still give you an awesome education. The school doesn’t make you better; your talents make the school better. If you’re ever getting too stressed, just take a moment to breathe and remember how fortunate we are to even have the opportunity to go to college. So many kids around the world will only dream of going to a university. Especially women. </li>
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<p>Alrighty, that’s my top 12 points of advice for freshmen! You should be good to go if you need more help along the way, us upperclassmen here on CC will be here for help!</p>
<p><em>edit</em>: when I said don’t stress about not having a boyfriend, that goes for not having a girlfriend either!
& seriously stay away from drugs and alcohol and bad influence “friends”. These 4 years are so important to your future. Don’t throw it all away. Don’t waste your privilege of being in a country with free public schools that many kids will only dream about. There’s nothing cool about getting drunk. There’s nothing cool about doing drugs. It sucks to see smart kids put their blessing of being intelligent in the trash. Don’t be one of those kids.</p>
<p>Freshman year quite honestly was not that difficult for me and most kids at my school (rising sophomore). Just make sure to get high grades in all your classes so you can get high level placement later on, join clubs so you can build up to leadership later (I would join more than you plan to actually do, attend a few meetings so you can find out what really interests you). Other than that, nothing to worry about. Most colleges don’t look at your freshman year, but you need to do the above to excel later. Oh, and around May or so, start sniffing around for something to occupy your time during the summer. Community service, an internship (though maybe you’re a bit too young for that), summer classes, etc. Don’t worry too much about figuring out where you want to go to college or what you want to study, that should come later as you figure out what subjects you’re really interested in.</p>
<p>Oh, and one more thing- try to have some fun. High school isn’t that bad as long as you don’t make yourself into one of those people who only cares about attending Harvard in four years.</p>