Any tips for Highschool?

[Gold Vanguard]

Well since i'll be starting Highschool this year as a freshman,i'm a bit nervous.

[Konnor97]

As your one year senior, I must tell you to relax. Freshman year isn't all that bad. From what I remember, it starts up like the work you had towards the end of 8th grade, and slowly becomes harder and more difficult, but that is to be expected. You have plenty of time to get to your classes, so you don't have to rush. Some older punks might try to mess with ya, but don't let them get to you. The main thing to remember is to relax. If you feel nervous, talk to your counselor or a teacher you feel comfortable with, and you can let them help you through the nervousness.

[Celice]

It really depends on the school itself. Some are pretty lax and allow you to choose multiple aspects of your class schedule and stuff like that. Some are pretty boring and choose almost everything for you.

The more important thing, I'd say, is try and find the classes you most enjoy or find interesting, and concentrate on those. Get a feel for what sort of education you have a good feel of, for, and with. After a couple years, if you have a good handle, you can find some elective courses in that kind of study, maybe some AP courses if your high school offers it.

Edited July 14, 2012 by Celice

[Moose Knuckle 28]

Honestly, the best advice I can give you is to take nothing too serious. I find that the less I stress about anything in particular, the happier I am. High School was no different. Also, while it's a bad idea to go around looking for fights and/or acting like a tough guy, stick up for yourself. I know it can be tough to do so without people thinking you can't take a joke, but you need to establish that while you're a calm level headed guy, you're not gonna take anyones bull****.

[Zanarkin]

Like the Moose said don't take things too seriously. In terms of classes, Freshmen year is possibly the easiest. Just don't stress and remember there is nothing wrong in asking the teacher if you are lost, confused, etc. Bullshit is guaranteed to happen, so don't stress too much about it when it does.

[Peppy]

Try not to let people who annoy you or people who hate you get in the way of your academic progress in high school!

I wish you luck, It won't be easy...

[Rehab]

Try something new! As long as you're getting the courses you need to graduate (and the ones you'll need in order to take other courses later) out of the way, there should be a lot of things available to explore that you haven't had as much access to yet, like Philosophy, Law, different kinds of Computer Science and stuff.

See if you can find a club, or some other kind of directed interest that sounds like it could be to your liking. I guess it depends on the school, but I felt like I had way more to choose from when high school came around- martial art and video game clubs, in addition to stuff like bands or academic clubs. It might just be the volume of topics you're made, but you seem like you're (or at least have potential to be) an outgoing person, so go make friends and work your Social Links!

Depending on how high you score on some standardized tests, you might be able to avoid taking a couple of early classes later in some colleges, like basic math or english. Not too much of a biggie if tests aren't your thing, since there are plenty of other ways to build a "resume," but it's something, and it's never too early to at least start thinking about scholarships.

[Ansem]

Put on a rubber.

Oh and your Freshman and Sophmore year dont matter. Slack away~

Edited July 14, 2012 by Dig Bick

[Moose Knuckle 28]

Put on a rubber.

Oh and your Freshman and Sophmore year dont matter. Slack away~

This is true to an extent. I slacked off pretty hard my Sophmore year. So long as your not trying to get into an extremely prestigious college, the year that you should really put an effort in is your junior year. The first test I studied for in my academic career was my SAT's and they got me a scholarship to help with my lackluster GPA. Seriously, just relax and try and enjoy yourself.

[Westbrick]

Some terrible advice in this topic.

Social success -> Don't give a shit. The less you care, the better off you'll be.

Academic success -> STUDY STUDY STUDY. High school is a joke compared to college, and getting high grades shouldn't be very difficult. Remember than the GPA you earn your first year is difficult to change significantly later on, so aim for the 4.0 your freshman year.

EDIT: And no, do not enjoy yourself. High school is overrated and terrible. Boring, insecure, dumb people all over the place. Throwing away a six-figure salary just to "have fun" with eventual checkout helpers and professional alcoholics is a poor investment.

Edited July 14, 2012 by Westbrick

[Zanarkin]

I thought GPA could be ruined by bad years in Freshman and Sophomore years. So even if you got great grades in 11 and 12, you'd still have a rather low GPA or something.

Social success -> Don't give a shit. The less you care, the better off you'll be.

I agree with this statement. Its good to have a group of close friends, but you don't particularly need to go overboard.

Edited July 14, 2012 by SlayerX

[Guy Starwind]

I'm getting old. I haven't been in high school for like five years.

For advice? Idk don't do drugs.

[MacLovin]

Be polite, and just get down to studying.

Don't do drugs, or get involved in vices, but don't become a pariah.

[Bolton]

Extracurriculars. That's all I have to say, extracurriculars are important.

[Original Alear]

MAX A.P.s AP GYM AP GYM

[Deliriyum]

Have fun and find your niche.

[Rehab]

If I had to pick between the two extremes, I'd say it's more worth it to study to the detriment of something else, than to devote all efforts to being social without a purpose in mind, but I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to tell somebody to not care about being social at all in high school. You never know who you might meet; there were actually some smart and interesting people at my high school I'm glad I met, though I might not have met them just from class alone (since most didn't have many or sometimes any classes with me), and I didn't really meet them until more high school was more than half-over.

It's kind of like building study habits- knowing how to make and be friends, oddly, isn't as automatic as I assumed, and I had more trouble than I expected after a couple years of not really trying it.

[Bolton]

Oh, don't get me wrong, studying should be something you have to prioritize, but grades are so easy to doctor that they're just mass-producing high 3.x to 4.0 GPAs now through tutoring mills and SAT boot camps don't help any either, 2000+s are 500 dollars away. HONESTLY, to set yourself apart, do have a VERY wide spread arm in school extracurriculars.

[Strawman]

Hello, my neighbor to the south(I'm from TN lol)! Good luck with starting high school!

Extracurriculars. That's all I have to say, extracurriculars are important.

I agree with this statement. You don't have to have a ton but at least find a couple you can get involved in. I had very very few extracurricular activities in high school and it is one of the things I would change if I had to go back and do it again. Also to add to this statement I was a very good student but I wasn't the best(aka in the top 10) and I had some extra activities(like 2) but I didn't stand out at all in highschool and I always wish I had a little more. But hey standing out may not be your thing and its not required, but it can really get you some good leadership and other kinds of experience to be actively involved in something. And it may even net you scholarships/awards/recognition/etc and that can be helpful later on.

Plus everything you have to take freshman year is super easy. Well I guess thats different for every person but freshman classes should be the easiest.

Also I dunno how it is for kids these days but when I was in 9th grade I was still in my awkward phase i had going on in middle school so theres still probably going to be a lot of similar stuff going on there. I don't actually remember 9th grade being all that different besides being on the 3rd floor of the building instead of the 2nd floor :/

But yeah as you get older pretty much the biggest difference between like 9th/10th graders and 11th/12th graders is that the older kids are just like more chill.

And as much as good grades are important your freshman year, having good friends and hanging out with people not just studying all the time can make it a lot more bearable.

Edited July 14, 2012 by StrawSloththeSawSlothStraw

[fuzz94]

Look, in all honesty most of this advice is coming from some different spectrums. It all depends on who you are now. Are you a social person, or are you more contained? Are you an athlete or do you not play any sports? Are you a very intelligent person?

Truth be told, Freshman year is a clean slate to start over. Do a bunch of sports and see how you do, you might find something you love. Try to become friends with everyone because it pays off in life. Do your best in class but do not focus on, "I NEED THE HIGHEST GRADE POSSIBLE" because it's some of the best years of your life so don't just toss it away.

Also talk to all of the girls in your grade, even if they are ugly or they don't like you, talk to all of them. Sometimes the ugly one comes back from Summer Vacation and she gets hot as hell. And freshman year most girls are all over anything really, I regret not doing this 3 years ago, so don't make my mistakes.

[Esau of Isaac]

As someone who wasted their time coasting through high school, absolutely do not just fuck around and go through the motions. Get involved, and use it to help prepare you for what comes afterwards.

Like damn, if I could go back in time nine years and do everything properly...

[Sunwoo]

High school is really nothing worth panicking about. Just live and don't do anything stupid. Make friends, meet people, be on good terms with your teachers. Learn stuff, study hard. Don't do drugs or other people. Don't worry about being popular or anything. Pretty much, just live your life. High school is a part of life, but it's nothing worth freaking out over.

[Flying Shogi]

Make a small group of real friends(do not limit yourself to this). Do not be a yes man. Some people might ask to copy your homework and try to be on the lesser end on both ends of the spectrum(letting others copy and doing it yourself). Trust me, copying is like drugs. Once you start to slack off, it's hard to get back to the right track. If you choose to copy and stop paying attention, let your first failing test be a wake up call. Hope it doesn't come to that.

Like others said, HS is not that hard but you should definitely invest in your HS grades. But don't go overboard and do nothing else. Be involved in extracurricular activities and have something to put on your resume. Oh and do well on the SAT's.

Edited July 14, 2012 by UberLughFTW

[Phoenix Wright]

Some terrible advice in this topic.

Social success -> Don't give a shit. The less you care, the better off you'll be.

Academic success -> STUDY STUDY STUDY. High school is a joke compared to college, and getting high grades shouldn't be very difficult. Remember than the GPA you earn your first year is difficult to change significantly later on, so aim for the 4.0 your freshman year.

EDIT: And no, do not enjoy yourself. High school is overrated and terrible. Boring, insecure, dumb people all over the place. Throwing away a six-figure salary just to "have fun" with eventual checkout helpers and professional alcoholics is a poor investment.

I'm not quite sure how serious you are, as you seem to be pretty extreme in this 'advice.'

Look, academics are important, and he should strive for a...let's say, 3.9 - 4.6 (or a 3.7 - 3.9 UW), better if desired, to get into a good college, but it is simply not worth four years of misery. Admissions are much too random and biased.

Your outlook of how these people are is a disgusting generalization of what this new student is likely to encounter. It's extremely important to make friends, to be sociable. A life of academia is no way to live, unless the person actually wants that (and the vast majority do not).

I'm willing to respond to you more articulately if you want to debate this. I know someone in real life that is JUST like you, seemingly (don't want to jump to conclusions, because I'm sure there's quite a few differences).

[Parrhesia]

Social success -> Don't give a shit. The less you care, the better off you'll be.

Academic success -> STUDY STUDY STUDY. High school is a joke compared to college, and getting high grades shouldn't be very difficult. Remember than the GPA you earn your first year is difficult to change significantly later on, so aim for the 4.0 your freshman year.

EDIT: And no, do not enjoy yourself. High school is overrated and terrible. Boring, insecure, dumb people all over the place. Throwing away a six-figure salary just to "have fun" with eventual checkout helpers and professional alcoholics is a poor investment.

this is seriously the worst advice

Don't let yourself swing like a pendulum trying to get approval. NOBODY LIKES PEOPLE WHO DO THAT. (That said, it's one of those things most people who aren't total psychopaths do a little, but you should at least feel guilty about it :p) That said, you don't want to be all alone

Academically it all depends on your priorities; besides, I don't know the US system.

Westbrick thinks everything is about money. Well, sure, if you purely want money, then slave the fuck away, be my guest if that's what genuinely makes you happy. But you can be happy in any job, not just one with a 'six-figure salary'. I like how condescendingly he talks down to 'checkout helpers', too. You can tell he never worked part-time a day in his life.

Finally, in moderation, cigarettes are okay, drugs are okay, sex is okay, drink is okay, but don't succumb to pressure. If you don't want to smoke/take weed/fuck/drink, then don't; it's that simple. But if you do, well, be comfortable with yourself.

Edited July 14, 2012 by Furetchen