How To Survive High School Vlog | Upperclassmen Advice for Freshmen 

1. Definitely do your homework the night it is assigned. If you have questions, you can ask your teacher on the non assigned day. Then, you'll have it prepared to turn in & better understand the material upon returning to class. 2. Make sure you pick (excluding requirements) classes you're interested in. I'd definitely say maybe experiment Freshman & Sophomore year- so you /know/ what subjects or fields you enjoy and can hone in on as an upperclassman. If you already know, great! I'd also recommend asking previous students of or the teacher teaching the class about what is covered in a class youd like to take and the difficulty level. This way you can gauge if maybe that class and another are just too much in the same year. 3. That being said.. definitely dont be afraid of Adv/AP classes. I came into Burbas class scared for my life Freshman year, because everyone said I was going to die. And guess what? I didnt. Be wary, the classes are hard but, if you know that you can handle the work load and are willing to commit maybe another two-three hours per week to do the assigned reading (please read the textbooks- even if you get behind those chapters are very helpful and important, reading makes the class SO much easier!) -and assignments you'll usually be fine. Also for every AP/adv class I've taken I've been very well prepared for the next course in line or the AP Exam. Running the extra mile now has been worth it thus far, especially in freshman year. As those early AP's like gov prepare you for taking AP classes sophomore year and for those more difficult classes. It really taught me time management and the importance of deadlines & "agendaing". It was so helpful to my overall educational experience and it helped me so much so when I did get to Matson, AP Bio, & AP World in the same year I didn't fall apart. 4. Agenda. Get one. It makes life so much easier, it helps you stay on top of things, and if you keep up with it you'll probably never forget another assignment or deadline again. One of my best investments, lol. 5. Lastly, because I need to stop rambling. If you're taking a performance based class in particular, but this does apply to all other subjects- you should practice. I definitely slacked on this in sophomore year in my music class and it showed. Even if it's only thirty minutes a day running over what your conductor has asked you to or even just looking over it and writing some notes on those especially busy days goes a long way. Also pay attention in class, otherwise you might not know what to practice. You improve, your section improves, and so does the entire ensemble. This also applies outside of performance classes. If you've previously struggled with a concept and had your mistakes corrected, practice. Theres almost always extra problems to work in a textbook and it helps to reinforce what you learned in class. Even if it's just something that's new the class, reinforce the notes you took and what you learned. So thank you for listening to my TED Talk.

I agree with the advice about getting involved on campus! Join a club, a sport, student government, a performance group, a study group or an academic team. Check out the expo during orientation to see your options. There is something for everyone -- find your people!

The biggest killer of grades is not completing and turning in work. The large majority in my experience at least is graded on completion. Be respectful to your teachers especially (if they like you enough, sometimes they'll let a piece of two of missing work slide if they know you're a responsible student who turns in things on time all the time) being a disrespectful lazy student will get you nowhere, and it's harder to improve your grade later rather than keep it up from the beginning. Don't stress too much about taking an AP course. Unless you're going to Harvard, taking 1-2 APs (and no more) per year should be just fine. Don't overload AP classes too much or your grades overall will suffer. Your GPA matters too

Thank you for putting this video up. I'm quite nervous to start high school and I really appreciate the effort the school puts in to make sure it's students feel ready. Thank you for your advice.

I have a question .. if you are a freshman can you take online classes? or graduate early like of you are a class of 2023 but you graduate 2022