Junior Year of HS Prep Tips

[Athea Andrea]

What advice have you for this new circle of hell into which I journey on August 28th? Btw, my courses are as follows (unless one of them fills up):

• AP Human Geography
• AP Physics C
• AP Language & Composition
• AP Computer Science Principles
• French
• Visual Communication (half-year)
• PE (half-year)
• Lunch (full-year thank god)

Edited July 24, 2017 by The Athenaeum Keeper

[whatonearth]

I just finished off my junior year lol, but my classes were way different, so here are a few general tips:

 

if your teachers are willing to stay after school, take complete advantage of that time. *especially* if you didn't understand that day's lesson. not sure if you understood? during your next free period, skim over the homework. chances are, if you don't remotely know how to solve at least half, you didn't understand. there's nothing wrong with asking for help

 

start looking at colleges, but don't get too stressed out. people will tell you that you need your major figured out right away so you can look at colleges, but it's completely possible to look at colleges and even apply without having a major. don't push it off too much, but don't stress yourself out. write down a list of what you like, then look at colleges with majors pertaining to those interests. 

 

join at least one club and/or a sport. being antisocial is fun, but colleges would love you if they saw that you branched out at least a little. not to mention, you might discover a passion you never previously thought about. however, if you're joining a team of any sort, make sure you're willing to commit. if you aren't, inform the coach/adviser that you just want to try it out for a week or two.

 

as for preparation stuff, get a single one subject notebook and a marble notebook for each class. jot down whatever notes you can in the one subject, then transfer them to the marble notebook in a more coherent form. buy more as you need throughout the year. I found that rewriting my notes actually helped me understand them better haha, you don't have much time in class to think about them when you're rushing to add more. 

 

make sure to have at least one friend in every class. if you don't have one, make one. friends are indispensable when it comes to getting notes and work you've missed, plus it's nice to have somebody to sit next to/talk with. just remember to return the note-taking favor!

 

junior year is pretty fun! you're starting to discover more independence, and there are huge milestones as well (prom, driving, college visits, SAT/ACT, etc.) you'll have a blast if you keep a good head about you, and remember to relax every once in a while. I can't stress enough how important it is to take a break every once in a while. good luck!

[Maelstrom]

5 hours ago, The Athenaeum Keeper said:

What advice have you for this new circle of hell into which I journey on August 28th? Btw, my courses are as follows (unless one of them fills up):

• AP Human Geography
• AP Physics C
• AP Language & Composition
• AP Computer Science Principles
• French
• Visual Communication (half-year)
• PE (half-year)
• Lunch (full-year thank god)

 

Is Visual Communications the little news style broadcast thing they do in high school these days?

 

AP Eng and Geo are whatever, you'll figure out what the teachers will test you on. It's just memorization for Geo and reading comprehension and critical thinking for the Eng.

 

Physics is pretty easy if you make sure you understand the concepts and do the homework. If there are extra practice problems you can do and be able to check the answers in the back, go ahead and do 'em. For the tests, you'll be using the same methods, just with different numbers, so just get used to doing 'em.

 

PE- I did sports throughout high school and never took a normal PE class, so I have no idea what that's like. It's probably super easy and super chill, so just enjoy it. It'll be your break from your other classes.