Level Up for High School

The Skills You Need for a Super-Successful 9th Grade.

Congratulations, freshman class! You’ve made it to high school. For many of you, the first semester of freshman year won’t be anything like you imagined. Between quarantine safety measures, hybrid or online-only learning, and the other challenges of learning during COVID, you might be feeling a little unsure about the transition to high school. We’ve got you covered with a few key skills you’ll need to start your high school career on a high note.

Keep your class materials in shape with a little bit of organizing

Now that you’re in high school, you’re going to have to start keeping yourself organized - no more backpack checks! Depending on your school’s schedule, you may be taking anywhere from four to eight classes at one time, and it’s important that you keep your work organized and separate throughout the semester. Educator Stacey Ebert shared her top five organizational tips with Noodle, which include setting aside a “filing system” for your work. Instead of trying to keep everything in your binder all year, you should create a space for notes, graded work, and tests to live once you pass that particular unit. If you periodically visit that space and keep it categorized, you’ll have a ready-made treasure trove of study materials once exam time rolls around (and you won’t feel overwhelmed by a cluttered bookbag!).

Organization is especially important if your school is on a hybrid or fully remote model this semester. That might also mean your organizational strategy has to go digital! If you don’t have physical notebooks, textbooks, or handouts, you should make a digital folder for each class (this might be a part of your school’s online platform or a local file stored on your computer).

Keep your mind focused by managing your time well

High school is full of new opportunities: advanced classes, trips abroad, internships, and extracurricular activities. It’s easy to bite off more than you can chew and find yourself overwhelmed by midterms, but if you put some time into time management at the beginning of the semester, you’ll be able to manage your responsibilities while leaving time for the things you enjoy.

As you begin thinking about playing sports, taking part in marching band, joining the robotics team, or taking that afterschool job, it’s important to make sure that you’re staying committed to your academics. After all, your academic record is the single strongest part of your eventual college applications, and your cumulative GPA does include freshman year. One of the easiest ways to make space in your brain for something is to make space on your calendar for it. You should keep a calendar (physically or electronically) and schedule regular time for studying and homework. Make sure that your family and friends know that you have to prioritize school during this time, and silence anything that might distract you. If you can attack your schoolwork with 100% focus during your designated homework time, you’ll be able to enjoy the other parts of your life without feeling rushed or stressed.

Once you start doing all of those awesome extracurriculars, make sure to add them to your calendar too. Seeing your whole day, week, and month planned out can help you figure out if you’re overscheduled, underscheduled, or just scheduled enough. When it comes to time management, we’re going for the Goldilocks standard!

If you’re looking for more time management tips, CollegeBoard’s Big Futures page has a list here.

Develop a smart note-taking process to get the most out of your textbooks

You’re going to find that high school classes require a lot more independent reading (especially once you get into advanced courses). It’s important to take physical notes as you read and to avoid relying on memory. If you take good notes the first time you read through a section in your history or biology textbook, you won’t have to spend as much time going back and re-reading; also, the act of taking notes forces your brain to connect with the information in a way that helps recall. You can use your textbook to help you plan out your notes! Take a look at the beginning and end of each section you’re assigned to read. Are there vocabulary lists? Comprehension questions? Those are clues as to the main ideas in the text. Use them to build your notes page.

When it comes to the form your notes take, you’ve got lots of options! There’s the concept map, which is great when you’re learning about concepts that connect to each other, or information that builds on what you’ve already learned. Cornell notes help you when you’re given a series of questions that need answering or concepts that need defining. Outlining is a good standard form that can be used for a lot of classes. Be creative! If you’re learning about a series of events, it might be helpful to make a timeline. If you’re learning about geography, you might want to print out a blank map and label it.

Developing a good note-taking strategy - or several note-taking strategies that work for different classes - will help you in the long term, since college success often relies on your ability to take concise, effective notes on a large amount of material.

Take the initiative when it comes to asking your teachers questions

This isn’t really a study tip, but it’s a great practice to get into during your freshman year. If you have questions about a deadline, assignment, or grade, it’s a great idea for you to broach that topic with a teacher if you feel comfortable doing so. If you’re not comfortable raising your hand in class, you can ask them before or after class. You can also email questions to your teachers, either before or after class. The more involved you are in your own learning, the more you will get out of your classes. Once you get to college, your instructors will be treating you as an adult (no parent intervention), and high school is a good time to start seeing yourself as one. It’s also a great way to build rapport with your teachers, who might be in a position to write you college, scholarship or internship recommendation letters later on down the road.

Keep your eye on the target and remember - this is a fresh start!

You might have been an all-star in middle school. You might also have had some rough patches. The nice thing about high school is that you’re starting over with a fresh slate! The scary thing about high school is that...well, you’re starting over with a fresh slate. If you’ve always been at the top of the class, make sure to keep working hard so you don’t slip to the middle of the pack when you enter more advanced courses. If you’ve struggled academically, this is the time to step it up a notch.

This is your opportunity to shine and to build a smart path to your final goal, whether that is college, military service, or vocational training. As Dr. Stephen Covey said in The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, you should “begin with the end in mind.” Starting first semester, make sure your choices set you up for success in the end.

Applerouth is here to help you have a fantastic fall. We’ve designed our academic tutoring options to help students stay on track, no matter what your semester looks like. For more information, please visit our Academic Tutoring page. High school’s a brand-new world - a new box of crayons, so to speak - and it’s yours for the taking!