In a survey I gave to ninth graders who just completed freshman year, they were asked what advice they would give incoming freshmen. The most popular piece of advice was, of course, to do your work and study. It is very important that you don't procrastinate doing your homework because it can really start to pile up and quickly become overwhelming. If you find that you're struggling with the amount of work or don't understand a concept, don't be afraid to ask a teacher, parent, or friend for help so you can get caught up.
Some other popular pieces of advice were: make friends, be involved, and be yourself. To see tips on making friends, click here. As for being involved in your school, being a part of a club or sport can help you make new friends and teach you about teamwork, so joining a couple clubs will help your high school experience. Clubs and after school activities also make you look like more of a well-rounded student to colleges and can help your chances of acceptance. To see tips on being yourself and individuality, click here.
There were also many pieces of advice that were less common among all the students but still very true. One of them was "don't worry about a significant other." Having a boyfriend or girlfriend may seem important, but it's really not. One thing that I see happen with a lot of the couples in my school is that they cut themselves off from their other friends and only do things with each other. Completely ignoring your friends for a significant other can be very detrimental if you break up because your friends won't want to talk to you after that. Most high school relationships don't last very long anyways, so it's not worth it to cut yourself off from everyone else.
Another important piece of advice is "popularity doesn't matter." High school is only four years, and the social status you have while in high school doesn't last beyond that. Once you graduate, the fact that you were really popular won't make a difference in how people treat you. Giving up your own interests for the sake of popularity isn't worth it in the long run purely because it's all over in a few years.
The final piece of advice from ninth graders is "pain is temporary, GPA is forever." This goes along with the advice against procrastination that I talked about above. How you do academically will affect the rest of your life. Everything is not hinged on one test, so homework is extremely important when it comes to GPA. For tips on homework, click here.
Some other popular pieces of advice were: make friends, be involved, and be yourself. To see tips on making friends, click here. As for being involved in your school, being a part of a club or sport can help you make new friends and teach you about teamwork, so joining a couple clubs will help your high school experience. Clubs and after school activities also make you look like more of a well-rounded student to colleges and can help your chances of acceptance. To see tips on being yourself and individuality, click here.
There were also many pieces of advice that were less common among all the students but still very true. One of them was "don't worry about a significant other." Having a boyfriend or girlfriend may seem important, but it's really not. One thing that I see happen with a lot of the couples in my school is that they cut themselves off from their other friends and only do things with each other. Completely ignoring your friends for a significant other can be very detrimental if you break up because your friends won't want to talk to you after that. Most high school relationships don't last very long anyways, so it's not worth it to cut yourself off from everyone else.
Another important piece of advice is "popularity doesn't matter." High school is only four years, and the social status you have while in high school doesn't last beyond that. Once you graduate, the fact that you were really popular won't make a difference in how people treat you. Giving up your own interests for the sake of popularity isn't worth it in the long run purely because it's all over in a few years.
The final piece of advice from ninth graders is "pain is temporary, GPA is forever." This goes along with the advice against procrastination that I talked about above. How you do academically will affect the rest of your life. Everything is not hinged on one test, so homework is extremely important when it comes to GPA. For tips on homework, click here.