I figured since people are beginning to go back to school and because I was just a freshman last year, I’d share some tips that would have helped me through my year or some tips that I’ve received from other people! Below are a list of organized tips on classes, studying, socializing, self care, and more for any high school freshman, but can also apply to high school students in general! Hopefully this helps others, and if you have any extra questions I don’t mind answering them!
SCHOOL & CLASSES
Talk to your teachers! You don’t have to follow them on Instagram and be best friends with them, but at least introduce yourself or talk to them a little bit. It’ll be easier to ask for help, make being in class more fun, and it’s always nice in case you need a letter of recommendation from them in the future. Even a simple “have a good day!” is a nice gesture.
Make a friend/contact in every class! It’s nice to have someone to talk to in the class, whether it be on a friendly basis or just a “hey, I have a question on the homework” basis. If you get their contact info, it’s great to communicate about any assignment and in case you miss a day of class, you’ll be able to get some info on that as well.
The coursework will be harder. For me at least, the high school courseload was a lot more than middle school. Expect to have to work harder for grades and that maybe you won’t hit the mark you were aiming for. But you’ll be okay. If you face any failures, it’s okay to cry and be upset, but pick yourself back up, examine your mistakes, and start a new.
Sign up for honors and AP classes ASAP! Only if you know your mental health and schedule can handle it. Don’t overwhelm yourself with the hardest classes if you know you can’t make time to study for them or if you know that there will be a mental toll. Failing an honors class isn’t worth it and you shouldn’t place an AP class above yourself. However, I believe that taking harder classes is something to show for college and it’s nice to challenge yourself.
Ask questions! Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You’ll regret it in the long run, and no, it’s not a stupid question. I’d rather be extra-clarified on a topic than be left in the dark to my detriment. If you have a question on homework, make sure to bring it up with the teacher the following day!
Participate in class. You may not want to at first, but raising your hand to answer questions or be active in a debate will benefit you in the long run. Plus, your teachers will notice you. (Especially if participation is a grade, like in a language class.)
Sit in the front of class! You’re not the teacher’s pet, you’re not some “try hard,” you’re getting your damn education. Sitting in the front will allow you to focus more on the task at hand, and you won’t be as full of distractions as you would be. Plus, if you’re at a height disadvantage, you don’t have to stretch your neck to impossible angles to see the board.
Take classes you’ll actually enjoy. Don’t take art just because you think it’ll be easy even though you hate it. Find alternatives, talk to your guidance counselor, and try to switch out of classes you know you won’t enjoy. (On the other hand, try something new! Interested in theater, but never taken a class? Take it! You may learn some things!)
NOTES, STUDYING & ORGANIZATION
Do your homework as soon as possible! The best time to do it is when you get home. Your homework isn’t just a grade, it’s to help you understand the topics in class. If you know you’ll be busy later, don’t be afraid to do your homework at lunch or any other available time. It’s better to get it out of the way so you can enjoy the rest of your day! Also, don’t copy it from others, it won’t help you in the long run.
Make group chats with people in your class(es). I did this several months into the year, when one of my classmates added me into group chats for the classes we shared (geometry and chemistry). It was a tremendous help, to be able to ask and answer questions, to compare homework, etc. I highly suggest doing this!!
Find your study space. Whether it’s going to the library after school or your desk in your room, find the best place you can study and focus without distractions.
Learn how to take notes and study. Find the way you learn and study! You can learn about what type of learner you are here. Knowing how you study will help you immensely. Tips on taking notes are here, and extra advice on studying can be found here.
Create a study schedule. Make studying a habit! Even reviewing just a little bit after school and reviewing what you learned over the week on weekends will make revising for tests a lot easier. Schedule specific times for when to study so it’s not left floating in the air. Make your study times longer as it gets closer to tests, midterms, or finals.
Midterms and finals are not as bad as they seem. But you should still be prepared and study for them just as hard. They’re not the end of the world, they’re not the worst thing that will ever happen to you. Just prepare and start reviewing more intensely a couple weeks before or so.
Don’t copy word for word when taking notes. You’ll remember a lot easier if you put it in your own words. Also, don’t copy every single thing that your teacher says. However, if they write it down on the board or repeat it several times, you should write it down. Creating acronyms also help you memorize.
Quizlet is your best friend. I don’t suggest making them for everything, but they also help you memorize, and it’s great if you don’t have index cards on hand. I used it for memorizing names and formulas in Chemistry, vocabulary terms for History, and theorems for Geometry. Plus, if you want, you can share with a few friends if they need it!
Annotate! Annotating helps especially with English. Ask the teacher beforehand what you should be focusing on, what the themes are, etc. Annotating helps you become active in your reading. Buy page flags or post it notes if you’re borrowing the book from school, otherwise, write right inside the book if it’s yours.
Underline and write in the margins rather than highlighting. Highlighting is passive learning–you’re not really absorbing the information and it can get overwhelming for me. Instead, I grab different colored pens, make a key in the corner of the page, and underline. With each underline I pair it with an explanation of why I underlined it and my thoughts. It helps you engage with the reading.
Stay organized! Find your organization system–whether it’s binders and loose leaf paper, folders and notebooks, etc. Keep track of all your assignments and grades for future reference (some teachers may directly copy questions from homework onto tests), and never throw away any papers you get from your teachers, unless they tell you to.
USE YOUR AGENDA/PLANNER/BULLET JOURNAL! It will be one of your lifelines. Write down every assignment/essay/project/test date as soon as you hear about it. It’s very important to keep track of this!!
Use the Pomodoro method! It’s basically 25 minute study sessions with 5 minute study breaks, and on your fourth study break, you take a 25-30 minute break. It’s great for sectioning time when you’re studying (I did this for my midterm/finals!), and gets you to look up, drink water, and stretch before getting back to work.
ACTIVITIES & SOCIALIZING
Learn how to balance your social life and your school life. Know the right amount of time to dedicate to studying and when you need to take a break from homework to hang out with friends. It may take a trial or two, but once you find your rhythm, it’ll be great for your health, education, and experience.
Join some extracurriculars! Extracurriculars are great for exploring what you like, meeting people who share the same interests, and just overall having some fun. Find out what your school offers and join what you think will be interesting! However, don’t overwhelm yourself and join everything (it won’t be good for your health) just for the sake of a college app–find what you love and stick to it.
Go to those dances and football games! Understand sports? Me neither, but it’s great to connect with friends and have a wonderful time. Have some fun! But don’t force yourself into anything that will make you really uncomfortable, of course.
Dating isn’t everything, popularity isn’t either. You don’t have to date in high school, especially not freshman year. However, if you do, know what you’re getting into and make sure that school is a priority above a relationship. Popularity and cliques aren’t everything either, just be yourself, find your own friend group, and I promise those friends will last longer than any sort of high school popularity.
Sitting alone at lunch is perfectly normal. Don’t be afraid of sitting alone. So many people do it, and you probably don’t notice them until you’re one of them. Just pop your headphones in, do some homework, and don’t mind the people–they aren’t even staring at you, promise. If it does bother you, though, go to the library or a classroom! You can also just ask a classmate/acquaintance if you can sit with them. There’s no harm in asking.
Make friends and drop the toxic ones. High school is a clean slate–you may lose some of your old friend group, but it’s also an opportunity to make new friends. Say “hi” to someone next to you in class, spark a conversation over a borrowed pencil, meet people at your extracurriculars… you name it! Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, everyone’s just as nervous about making friends as you are. This is also a time to drop friends who may be toxic and negative. High school should be a wonderful experience, don’t let others hinder that.
Befriend some upperclassmen! They’re not as scary as you think! They know a bit more than you do, and they especially help to give you advice on future teachers you might have or to vent about your current teachers.
Be kind to everyone. Compliment someone, smile at others, make someone’s day brighter!
Going to a party? Be safe, please. I won’t tell you to avoid alcohol and drugs like the assemblies at school, but just know the consequences that follow should you want to do something like that. Tell a friend, buddy up, you know the deal.
Avoid drama. It’s probably a given, but you shouldn’t need to involve yourself in any sort of that. Sometimes it’s inevitable, but avoid it when you can!
SELF CARE
Eat breakfast! You should start your day off right and at least eat something before you’re off to school (or if you don’t have time/resources, eat breakfast at school). It boosts you with energy so you can focus in class!
Take a nap if you need to! If you didn’t get enough sleep one night and feel sleepy during a study session, don’t hesitate to rest so you can focus, otherwise you won’t be able to retain much info. Make sure to set an alarm for 20-30 minutes so you won’t sleep for the rest of the day.
Never pull an all nighter! It’s detrimental to your health and 9 times out of 10 it’s not worth it. It’s much more beneficial to at least take a nap (read above) and wake back up in the morning (if you really have to, like 4am-5am). I’ve seen friends pull all-nighters with hands shaking, sweet tarts bag in hand, and have to nap in a class just to survive. Don’t do it. Take that nap. Plan out your study sessions. Your health comes first!!
Take a break! Been studying for too long? Writing for too long? Your mental health is super low ‘cause of school? Take a break, a mental health day, whatever it is to get yourself rested. You can’t do much if you’re not in the right mindset or burned out.
Get yourself on the right sleep schedule. Teens need about 9 and a half hours, and while that’s unreasonable, at least aim for 8. Set a bed time and a wake up time (I use an app called sleep cycle on my phone). Put away your electronics for at least 30 minutes before bed. Sleep is essential!
Don’t be so hard on yourself. I had a really tough time with this, but you have to accept what happens. You can get upset about failures, but you should ultimately learn from your mistakes and try harder. You are not your grades, they do not define you.
Always carry a water bottle with you. Stay hydrated! Especially carrying a reusable water bottle will help cause it also holds more water than a normal water bottle. Make sure you can have it in your classes, but most of the time you should be alright–it never hurts!
Go on a social media detox once in a while. It’s nice to take a break from Instagram, Snapchat, etc. Sometimes it can get to you and overwhelm you. Just put your phone away or delete your social media apps and take a breath.
Here’s some links on self care.
MISCELLANEOUS
Freshman year is not the be all, end all. but you still need to do well to set up your sophomore year and the years to come. You’ll make mistakes, and that’s okay.
Attend orientation if you can! It’ll help get to know some of your classmates, know where to go in the school, and generally get an introduction to where you’ll be going to school for the next four years!
Grab a map and know your schedule. It’s okay to carry a map/schedule around and “look like a freshman” for a couple days. I’d rather be getting to classes on time than worry about if I look like the new kid on the block. Just know where you need to go, and you’ll get the process down! (Don’t be embarrassed if you accidentally enter the wrong classroom at the wrong time or anything, it happens.)
You don’t have to have everything figured out. Don’t worry about college, what you’re going to major in–you have four (4!!) years ahead of you, and even then you don’t have to have it all determined.
Utilize your counselor! Your counselor is super important, from scheduling to college to anything else. My counselor helped me out immensely by getting me into an art class and moving me out of classes I didn’t like. They’re amazing for advice, too! Don’t be afraid to go into their office from time to time.
If you have an ID, keep it on you at all times. At least at my school, they crack you down if you don’t have an ID around your neck at all times. I’ve seen the fear in my friends’ eyes. Just make sure to immediately put your ID in your backpack after school so that way you won’t forget it at home.
Keep some money on you. $5 to $10 is fine, it’s just in case you forget to pack your lunch or anything so you can either buy yourself lunch or get something from a vending machine! You’ll never know when you need it.
Get a good backpack. You don’t want to die because your bag can’t support two textbooks and some notebooks–make sure to get a quality backpack with good straps and sizable to carry what you need!
Make some playlists for the different aspects of your day. Whether it’s waking up, walking to school/through the hallways, doing homework, writing essays, etc., if you’re the type of person who needs music to get motivated or start working, it helps to have soundtracks for your activities!
Don’t compare yourself to others. Focus on you. You’re not anyone else, you can’t be anyone else, so don’t worry about whether someone’s grade was better or worse than yours. It’s not a good mindset to have.
Good luck! You got this! You’ll be okay. I believe in you.
