While there is no better way to learn life lessons than through living them, and no way to avoid the inevitable conflicts of high school, there are a few tips and tricks I wish I had known sooner in my high school experience. This article will cover practical information for underclassmen, as well as advice from other seniors.
Firstly, for students planning to go to college in a few years, consider asking your teachers about Honors. Honors is an additional note beside your grade that shows up on your transcript when colleges receive your application. Some teachers offer Honors credit for simple things, like reading an extra book in English, or taking tests without notes in Chemistry. Honors could potentially be an easy thing to do to make yourself a more competitive candidate for college admission. It’s up to the individual student to assess the value of Honors for themselves, and I won’t pretend to understand the intricacies or importance of individual factors in the college application process. All I can say is I certainly wish I had begun asking teachers what it took to achieve Honors, so that I could have chosen for myself.
My second piece of practical advice concerns the College Board. After I signed up for Advance Placement (AP) courses and the PSAT, my inbox overflowed with spam emails from colleges. Many other students I have spoken with have shared similar situations. As a busy high school student, there are many things I’d rather be doing than unsubscribing from organization after organization. If I could go back, I would seriously have considered starting an email made specifically for signing up for AP courses, the PSAT and SAT, and reaching out to colleges. That way all college related information would be in one place. This method could mean important information would be spread across a school email account, a home email account, and a college email account. An imperfect solution, but possible option, for how to deal with the college conundrum.
Other students shared tips on how to have success at Franklin High School. Fiona Saul (12) spoke of the reminders that would have been helpful to them going into freshman year: “[As a freshman] I needed somebody to tell me that it was always okay to advocate for myself … if something is weird or I think there’s a problem [I should] always say something about it,” emphasized Saul. Especially at a high school the size of Franklin, determined advocacy plays one of the biggest roles in getting needs met and having the experience you would like to have. Otherwise, students can get lost in the crowd. Additionally, developing a support system and establishing relationships with staff can help students navigate the self-advocacy process. “Find a staff member that you’re comfortable with and that will be on your team,” encouraged Saul. “So you have somebody to back you up.” They explained that staff have proved incredibly effective when helping Saul advocate for themself.
An anonymous student (12) explained that high school was “a lot less scary than [I] thought it was [going to] be and it’s a lot easier to make friends and get involved with sports and [other things]” than they had previously believed. The student wished they had gotten more involved with sports because athletics make it “so much easier to make friends,” and encouraged students to participate in extracurricular activities they find interesting to make school more fun.
Norah Dixon (12) encouraged students to “put yourself out there.” Dixon noted that they were shy as a freshman but have since realized that class is more fun when “people are talking with each other.” Dixon also agreed with the anonymous student that high school is a better experience when you get involved and interact with peers. “When I was a sophomore, I … did not speak because I had these preconceived ideas about [how people would perceive or judge me].” However, Dixon explained that now they have come to realize “people don’t tend to have mean mindsets about other people” and urged students to “try to be carefree and get involved in the school because it is fun.”
Of course, there is no “best” way to experience high school; but I have learned a lot from other students about which classes were a great use of time, advice about forecasting and managing a workload, and plenty of useful tidbits I’m glad they shared. Most have plenty to say about their experiences throughout high school and would be happy to reflect and impart some wisdom. All I can offer are a few things that would have helped me, but I would encourage students to ask respected peers, upperclassmen and staff they trust, for more specific advice.
