As we get older, everything has a role in our future. High school has a massive role in who we become. In high school, everything matters, from grades to extracurriculars. While we balance our academics, extracurriculars, and social life, we must find time for ourselves, which is quite difficult. High school can be very stressful, especially for incoming freshman. That’s why here are pieces of advice to succeed in high school, coming from a rising senior.
1. Have good time management.
Having good time management skills will lift half the weight off your shoulders. It will allow you to get adequate sleep and be refreshed the next day. Time management is properly delegating your time for everything. Creating an after-school schedule and delegating time for homework helps keep you in check every day. This way, you will establish a routine for homework and won’t stay up late doing it. Time management also includes eliminating time-wasters. For me, the
biggest distraction and time-waster is TikTok. I would be on TikTok so much that I was up late doing work. I deleted TikTok and started following the schedule I created. Once my biggest distraction was eliminated, I followed my schedule and could get more sleep.
2. Find relevant extracurriculars
You may feel pressured to do a lot of extracurriculars like your peers, but doing relevant ones to your interests is more beneficial. In the beginning, it is okay to take part in a variety of extracurriculars so you can find your interest, but as you go into sophomore and junior year, you should stick to the ones that really interest you. If you are really interested in something, you tend to put more effort into it and tend to go further and make it more meaningful.
3. Stay organized
This is a big one. Staying organized can literally be a lifesaver. Don’t rely on memory for everything. Write things down. Keep a planner where you write down your homework assignments, test dates, etc. This way, everything is in one place, and you can look back anytime you need. You also are not at the risk of forgetting an assignment or upcoming test.
4. Early test prep
Start studying for tests at least 2-3 days in advance. There are those few lucky ones that can pull an all-nighter the night before a test and cover the entire unit and still do great on the test. Not everyone is like that. My advice to you is to start test prep early. Spend more time on the topics you struggle with and study until you get it. But don’t forget to cover the content you think you understand. Practice, practice, practice! Practice plays a massive role in test scores and being over-prepared is always better than being under-prepared.
5. Choose a balanced course load
Do not take all AP/honors classes. It will make you feel so stressed and sleep deprived. You need a balance in your life. Take the rigorous class in the subjects you enjoy so you have more motivation to work hard. If you don’t enjoy a subject, don’t take the rigorous class because you will lose motivation. Everyone also needs the balance between easy and hard classes. An easier class is like a breath of fresh air amid the difficult ones that people tend to take. Make sure the classes each year are balanced, reflect your interests, and contain some difficult classes.
Throughout the past three years in high school, I have learned a lot about how to be successful in high school. In freshman year, I didn’t follow any of these rules and was constantly stressed, but once I realized what I was doing wrong, junior year was a breeze. These tips are just general pieces of advice that worked for me, and you can adjust them to suit you.
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