“I wish I had taken more AP classes. I wish I had tried a little harder. I wish I had joined the anime club. I wish I would have talked more in class.”

These are all words I’ve heard from my senior classmates.

Plenty of seniors are looking back at their first year in high school. They think about what they know now and how it could have helped them in their freshman year. As all students begin Semester 2, it’s a good time to take a look at what they can improve.

Course selection  

When freshmen go into ninth grade, freshmen have a lot of choices to make. They have to plan for four years. “Am I going to take an AP class, start the CTC program, or, now, the new Early College program.”

The ninth grade classes are often prerequisites to the harder classes that they might want to take later. The advanced classes will look better on a college application and they will only be possible if when students make wise choices on the prerequisite classes. 

Senior Lindsey Green said, “I’m really happy that I decided to take the Child Development completer early on in high school because it was a great way to learn a lot in a specific field, especially one that I am looking into studying in college. I’m glad I decided to take it early on because it gives you a jump start in something you’re passionate about, and we got to teach kids early on.”

Missed opportunities

Another common problem with choosing classes is making the decision to take starter classes for Project Lead the Way, Navel Junior Reserve Officers Training CORPS (NJROTC), and/or CTC classes. While people may think they are too young to be deciding the whole future, it is better to take these classes now and see what you like and eliminate the things you don’t.

“CTC is something you don’t want to miss out on, I wish I would’ve done it, it would of made school a lot easier to do,” said Erica Blockinger a FCC CNA Student.

GPA

Grades from freshman year are part the overall GPA.  Even though we will have completed one semester, it’s not too late to make a turn around.  GPA is sent to colleges and is one of the many factors that go into whether an application is accepted or not. Grade point average (GPA) is based on all the classes in high school. That means that freshman classes are just as important as junior or senior classes. However, if a student has a couple bad grades, it is not the end of the world as long as they can show that class grades get better over four years of high school.

Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities are very important to get involved in during high school. It’s not just because they look good on college applications.  Students who are in extracurriculars often feel more involved in  school and earn higher grades. It is also important to try to get involved freshman year since everyone is new at the same time, and it will be easier to try something new if everyone is also new. 

Everyone had a virtual fall semester, so it’s not too late to try a club.  Students can email the advisor of each club.

Freshman year I was not able to be involved in any sports. Then I joined the swim team my sophomore year. My only regret was not being a part of it in ninth grade. The experience has some of my favorite memories and the relationships formed will last a lifetime.

Building Relationships

Building relationships with teachers and guidance counselors is so important your freshman year. Having a relationship with teachers will help to figure out the best classes to take. They also help to get through the college application process, which is extremely important. By building these relationships early, you can be prioritized in the future for teacher recommendations. 

“Creating a relationship with my teachers has helped me because I can talk to them if something is wrong or if I need help. Also you can ask them for teacher recommendations when your applying to college,” said Senior Sammie Hoefs.

Attendance 

While some may think classes are easy and that means they can miss them, it is important to show up, build relationships with students and teachers.   Do the work.  What you put off now will snowball in the future.

Freshmen, make sure to start planning early and have a successful freshman year and it will jump start you to settle into your high school years. If you are not a freshman anymore it is not too late to start focusing on your goals. The time in the pandemic can be hard for everyone, so turn your cameras on, study hard and make connections with peers and teachers. It goes by very fast and as a senior I know you don’t want to look back and see you didn’t give 100%.