Transcription
We are going to talk about advice that we would give to 9th and 10th graders involving the college process.
Let’s start out and say that 9th and 10th grade actually matters, as much as you think that they don’t, they definitely matter. Your grades matter, and everything you do matters. It really prepares you for 11th and 12th grade and beyond. If you start out having a good work ethic, then you’ll kind of continue it, and you’ll be able to handle all the AP classes and stuff that you take later on, but if you start badly, you’re just not gonna do well.
I may have slacked off my freshman year just a little bit, and that definitely held me back. That’s the one that brought down my GPA. I was just thinking about it the other day, what schools could I have gotten into if I hadn’t slacked off. If you want to slack off and get into an average college, then that’s on you, but push yourself and you can get into a really good college.
It’s true, she’s right. You think in 9th grade you’re just getting into high school and you’re like “oh no, I’m a freshman, everyone’s older than me, I just need to adjust and I’ll be fine.” You need to think more about how your grades are, and what extracurricular activities you’re doing and everything that’s going to help you get into the best college you can get into and the place you’ll be happy.
Get involved right away. I joined T-club in 9th grade, and in 11th grade I was vice president. I joined track as a freshman, and I was captain by my junior year, I made varsity. I had the older kids give me advice, and they really helped me step it up sophomore year. It’s really important just to think about what you’re interested in and what’s something you can see yourself doing all four years because consistency is an important thing for colleges. So you get into your comfort zone, and if you start early, then you’re just going to be happy keeping it there and persevering.
At the same time, don’t go crazy, don’t freak out about a B+ or think you have to join all the clubs and stuff. That’s why they keep honor societies restricted mostly to 11th and 12th graders. High schools want you to be able to adjust, and also get ahold of your schoolwork before everything else. Even though you shouldn’t slack off, not getting that 4.0 isn’t the end of the world. You will live.
It’s just like, setting up yourself for knowing you’ll have to be doing work for the full four years of high school and into college also. You just can’t start off with the mindset that you’ll just coast through high school because that’s not how it works if you want to get into a good college and be happy. Just make sure you realize what you’re getting into for the next four years.
