<p>I'm going into high school this year, and I want to know anyone's tips, advice,or what they would've done.</p>
<p>I already have one: I wish I joined orchestra in middle school. </p>
<p>Anyone else?</p>
<p>Try new things. Talk to people outside your social circle, but don’t forget those inside your social circle. </p>
<p>Your grades are always most important. Don’t let yourself get behind because of an obsession, or because you feel like crap.</p>
<p>And no matter what you tell yourself, rejection is better than regret. It really is. If you want to do something, then go for it. You don’t want to be asking yourself “What if?” later. Trust me.</p>
<p>I wish I had more courage in high school.</p>
<p>Get good grades and get the hell out of there.</p>
<p>Don’t give a crap about other people’s opinions</p>
<p>Get to know your teachers, make them love you. Especially during your junior year, because if you can get a glowing recommendation, that’d look awesome on a transcript.
Also, if you find a teacher you really love during freshman year, try to have him/her in other classes (if they teach other classes) over the next few years so when recommendation time comes they have a lot to say about you.</p>
<p>Join a lot of clubs, try new things and find out what you’re passionate about right away.</p>
<p>Take AP/honors courses in subjects you’re interested in, not just the hard subjects.</p>
<p>Take the hardest classes you can manage, not just the hardest classes.</p>
<p>Do well early on. Fixing a messed up GPA due to slacking off underclassmen years (or any other problems) is a hell of a lot harder than maintaining a good one.</p>
<p>Learn to love your teachers. Not just to suck up to them or to get a recommendation later on, but enjoy school. Teachers are human beings too, and often very funny ones.</p>
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<p>^ </p>
<p>Also, get involved in something. It can just one thing, as long as you enjoy it and it’s something you stick with. It’s much better to be the kid with the 3.7 and a bunch of EC’s than to be the kid with the 4.0 and no life outside of academics whatsoever. It’s not just better on an application, but it’s better for you. High school is supposed to be fun once in a while.</p>
<p>Work hard, play hard.
Don’t scatter your attention; focus on the task at hand.
Don’t freak out over a less-than-stellar grade, and don’t kill yourself trying to make straight 100’s or A+'s or whatever.
Do things because you want to, not because you feel you have to.
Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself, but don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Find things & people that’re/who’re important to you. Make them priorities.</p>
<p>Just know that while certain aspects of high school may seem like the most important things in the world, as soon as you leave, you’re going to realize how trivial it all is. This pertains especially to the mistakes, of which you should plan to make many.</p>
<p>Doing more community service at an organization.
I agree with Joy up there, definitely go for something if you really want it, even if you think you won’t get accepted. The “What if?” feeling for me is always the worst. I wish I was more outgoing and confident in myself.</p>
<p>I second the orchestra thing, but I’m a rising senior so it’s too late now! haha</p>
<p>Advice: Put your health first. </p>
<p>Do not overwhelm yourself with activities!
Your priorities should be the following:
~Great grades
~SLEEP (I can’t stress this enough)
~Maintaining at least one good friendship (You shouldn’t stick with a phony; however, if you have a true friend, never let them become distant because you are distracted by other things.)
~Family - Four years from now you will be moving out on your own. Cherish every moment with your family. </p>
<p>There will be a plethora of clubs and organizations for you to join. However, you should only join the ones that really mean something to you. Then, after dedicating yourself to a few clubs and organizations you care about for a few years, you will have seniority and a good group of friends. </p>
<p>Do not overwhelm yourself! Less is more; you must put quality over quantity and turn down some opportunities when you know they will be time intensive and a distraction from your priorities. </p>
<p>I was cast in the school musical second semester of my junior year. It was awful. I was falling asleep during rehearsals every day (embarrassing much?). We practiced for hours every day, and I was going to sleep at 4 AM night after night. In hindsight, I wish I would have sacrificed theatre for better health. </p>
<p>Lastly, enjoy your time in high school. Savor your last four years of childhood. Cliche as it sounds, you will look back as a senior and wonder where the time went.</p>
<p>Advice-- Don’t go out of your way to be nice to people. You’ll soon learn that not everyone cares about your well-being. I’m not saying to be respectable or polite. I’m saying to not fret if someone doesn’t like you. Don’t fret if someone thinks your idea is stupid. Don’t fret if someone doesn’t smile to you while walking in the hallway. They most likely won’t matter the next day, week, and most certainly not two years from now.</p>
<p>YOLO</p>
<p>10yolos</p>
<p>Join clubs early <- big one for me. I waited until junior year to join my clubs and so I couldn’t really run for officer positions my senior year when I really wanted to take on leadership roles. I also wish I joined academic team my freshman year, it was so much fun my senior year that I wish I was in it for all four years!</p>
<p>Read Cal Newport’s blog, [Study</a> Hacks](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/]Study”>Study Hacks - Decoding Patterns of Success - Cal Newport), and read <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/How-High-School-Superstar-Revolutionary/dp/0767932587[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/How-High-School-Superstar-Revolutionary/dp/0767932587</a>.</p>
<p>In high school, a lot of students make this one mistake… They don’t study. Many high school students think they can understand everything and do well on the test. It’s best to develop good study habits. In college, not studying and getting by won’t work. Also, take AP classes that interest you the most. Don’t really pay attention to others who say take a TON of AP’s. Say, if your interest was History and other related topics, you should take AP World, AP U.S History, and AP European History. Also don’t forget to make new friends! 
Poster #2 has good advice.</p>
<p>Be comfortable in your own skin. Be outgoing. Join the clubs you want. Don’t listen to what other people think or say. Just make yourself happy. :)</p>
<p>Don’t worry if you aren’t popular or whatever, just be happy with who your friends are and don’t try and be who you’re not.</p>
<p>Hi! I’m a junior, and here’s a list of regrets/tips that I have from my three years in high school.</p>
<p>-Study hard. Don’t think that just because this isn’t the most important year, you don’t need to study much. Your classes will be easiest this year, so make sure you get the best grades you can. This year can either kill or save your GPA.</p>
<p>-Get involved. Join all the clubs you can. Stray away from the ones that are very big unless you’re very interested in them; chances are, you won’t be able to get a board position in them. Instead, join the clubs with a small number of members. You can get a board position as early as sophomore year, and if you work at it, you can be President by junior or senior year.</p>
<p>-Look into Journalism. I didn’t, and I really wish I would have. Everyone at my school who does Yearbook (junior/senior years of journalism) LOVES it. It looks great for colleges, it’s fun, and you meet a ton of people.</p>
<p>-Be open. Chances are, you’ll be meeting a lot of new people in high school. When I was a freshman, I remember being so intimidated by everyone. Don’t be. If you’re nice to them, they’ll be nice to you. Step outside of your comfort zone. </p>
<p>-Don’t think it’s impossible to join a sport. I go to a high school that wins nearly every state championship for every sport every year, so I went in thinking I didn’t have an ounce of a chance making the team. Well, I ended up just doing it for the heck of it, trained all summer, and ended up making it. Keep in mind, I’m no athletic prodigy by any means, I just stay healthy and exercise. If you work hard and want it bad enough, you can make it. </p>
<p>-Start college tours now. I know, that sounds crazy; you’re not even in high school yet. You don’t need to go on road trips to all the colleges, but if you’re on vacation and near a college you’re interested in, go visit it. Now that I’m a junior, I wish I would have done this earlier because there a lot of colleges I need to visit in cities I’ve already been to.</p>
<p>-Make friends with the teachers! Even if you hate them with every fiber in your being. At the end of the quarter when you have an 88, whether the teacher likes you or not will pretty much determine whether you get an A or a B. Another tip: show initiative. If there’s two weeks left until the end of the quarter and you have an 85, ask for extra credit. You’re more likely to get it now than you are the day before grades go in. </p>
<p>-Don’t get caught up in class rank competition. It will literally drive you crazy. Just do your best, and things will fall where they should. Don’t take tons of online classes to get insane GPA boosts; I’d rather have fond memories of high school and be in the top 10%, than only being able to remember late nights studying and being the valedictorian. Keep in mind that no one cares about if you’re valedictorian after graduation. </p>
<p>That’s all I’ve got! Good luck!</p>