Student Resources

NOTE : This was written by one of my friends as a fresh perspective. Enjoy! Let’s start with a little anecdote shall we? The summer before high school started I was a blossoming little soon-to-be freshman ready to walk through those hallowed halls of high school and come one step closer to college, adulthood, and liberation. At that point I didn’t know how much I’d have to go through to get there. During that summer I got my first boyfriend. (Saying it like that makes it seem like I just caught a shiny Magikarp.) You have to understand that I don’t have the most experience with relationships as the longest one I was in lasted a good three months and that's because he was in China for most of the summer. It was nice ya know, but we ended it because we were better off as friends. And by that point I thought I was pretty expert at relationships. I’m not. High school starts and I’ve been talking to this guy on Facebook. It’s pretty chill; he’s witty and philosophical and it just s...

NOTE: This was written by one of my friends as a fresh perspective. Enjoy! For all you insatiably hungry students, just know that school food should never be your first choice in snacks. By that, I mean the temptation of the vending machines. That bag of chips isn't worth a dollar-fifty. Instead, buy snacks in bulk when you get groceries, or even make your own. The unit price is much cheaper, and they'll save you a lot more money than you think. Plus, you have more choice outside of what the school offers. -ES

NOTE : This was written by one of my friends as a fresh perspective. Enjoy! From my experience with regular and honors classes, I can guarantee that there's a stark difference between them. Generally honors students can be more orderly (even when goofing off) and they make good classmates since most of them want to do well. In regular classes, I get the impression that that's not the case. There are just some people that just don't care if they're disruptive for the classroom, and it's incredibly irritating. I've had classes where I am just overwhelmed with contempt for certain people because they are so distracting. So while regular classes can have a lighter workload, keep in mind that your classmates might be more disorderly. The opposite is usually true for honors classes, so think about that too. -TS

NOTE : This was written by one of my friends as a fresh perspective. Enjoy! If you ever find yourself preparing to pull an all-nighter despite having come home straight after school that day, chances are you're doing something wrong. Get to know how long it takes for you to complete certain assignments and divide your time accordingly. If you're a known procrastinator, you can even give yourself a little leeway, but make sure to plan beforehand so that you aren't rushing to complete that twenty-five paged essay the night before it's due. If you have to, make use of class time and lunch time as well. -ES

NOTE : This was written by one of my friends as a fresh perspective. Enjoy! One of the best things to have in high school is a planner. Some schools like mine sell their own planner, but you can easily buy one at Target (it might even be cuter too). Or, you can make your own bullet journal to add a personalized touch. Either way, a planner is essential since you can jot down all the things you need to do, and the due dates that are coming up. This way you're always prepared for what to turn in and etc. I have terrible memory, and if I don't put it down in my planner it's a lost cause. So save yourself the trouble and get yourself a planner! -TS

The college admission process is tricky, but after struggling with it for the early half of senior year, I have a rudimentary understanding of it...? I'm going to break it down step by step, but be warned, it's still obnoxiously complicated. The summer before senior year is the ideal time to figure out what colleges to apply to. I made a spreadsheet on Google (while you're at it, make an entire folder for applications- you'll need it), and it was my go-to in keeping track of everything. I'll attach a template of it below. Template .  Consider applying to different types of colleges (dream, reach, and safety) so you have a reasonable spread of colleges.  A lot of colleges have you apply online through the CommonApp. I know California state schools and the UC's have their own system, but it's all fairly similar. You'll have to fill out a lot of information, write an essay, along with smaller supplemental essays for individual schools. Oh yeah, wr...