Below are some great high school tips from a former student of mine. Haarika is a super hard working, extremely focused student. It was my absolute privilege and pleasure to work with her. I am proud to have been her tutor/teacher. She has some detailed advice outlined below. I was her SAT/ACT teacher the summer before her senior year. She increased her SAT/ACT score substantially. Seniors often do better on the SAT/ACT the fall of their senior year. (It is best to take the SAT the summer before your junior year though.)
- SAT was 2250 (Math 770)
- ACT was 35 (Math 36, English & Reading 35, Science 34)
- SAT 2 Math: 800
- SAT 2 Chemistry: 760
- SAT 2 US History: 750
Freshman Year: Keep your grades up, it will help your GPA later on in high school. If you want to do sports/clubs in high school, this is a good year to start because you are not as busy as you will be later in high school. For clubs, during your school’s rush week or club fest, clubs will have freshman representative/low level officer positions available. Take as many honors classes as you’d like. Honors classes are much easier than AP classes. Finish volunteering for school requirements. Try to find volunteering/activities to do long term throughout high school. Continuing activities from before high school throughout high school is also good.
Sophomore Year: Take what AP class is offered to get an idea of how to study for AP classes. (At my high school, only AP Euro was offered sophomore year. I took AP Euro; not at all related to my major but it was important for teaching me how to study for future AP exams). During the summer, start studying for SAT/ACT. The earlier you start and the more you practice, the better off you will be. Doing well on the PSAT is also good. You will take the PSAT for real in junior year. Don’t underestimate its importance. Continue extracurriculars, clubs, and leadership. Try to move up in the ranks. It’s okay if your clubs aren’t related to what you plan on studying in college. Attempt SAT subject exams for the first time; you can choose which to send to colleges
Junior Year: SAT studying. Make sure you have studied for the PSAT. After attempting the SAT 2 times, if you’re still not satisfied with your scores, attempt the ACT. Some people are naturally better at the ACT than the SAT. make sure you understand the format of the exams you are taking. Take AP classes, do well on the exams. When deciding how many AP classes to take, consider that you will have less time next year to take AP classes. May/June (or earlier if you would like) take SAT subject exams. AP content helps with some subject exams (Chemistry). May subject exams are usually before the AP exams. June will be after the AP exams. You don’t want to take subject exams senior year. Make your attempts during junior year count. Figure out which colleges you are applying to. This will help a lot for next year. During the summer after junior year look into the essays for your colleges. Continue extracurriculars; demonstrate growth in leadership. Start thinking about who you are going to ask for letters of rec. figure out the college app process during the summer. Be informed, ask upperclassmen if confused about anything. Decide if you are doing early decision; start working on apps accordingly.
Senior Year: “Senioritis” and “second semester senior” should not be part of your vocabulary. Senior year is arguably the hardest year of high school. Don’t take a lighter load of classes if you know you can handle more. Also, keep in mind that professors don’t care about how little time you have due to college apps. At the beginning of the year, finish up taking the SAT/ACT. College apps. Don’t underestimate the time supplements take. Revise and revise again. At the beginning of the year, check in with counselors if applying to private colleges for letters of recommendation. (My school made us fill out a profile packet and attend certain meetings to get letters). Demonstrate growth, leadership, and commitment to extracurriculars. Discuss when relevant in college applications. Don’t feel upset or stressed after the application process when you see all the social media updates about who got into what college.
Remember,
- Another person’s success does not equal your failure.
- You can’t change the fact that you didn’t make an early decision. All you can do is keep your grades up both semesters as you wait for decisions to be released and to see if you get off a waitlist.
Notes: Grades and test scores are very important. Continuity in extracurriculars is good. Make sure your activities are meaningful. It’s better to take BC Calc. I definitely recommend Mamie’s SAT Math Subject and AP Calc courses because they helped me get the scores I got. The SAT/ACT course she offers is very thorough. Basically, if you work hard and supplement Mamie’s classes with your own practice, you will do well.
Studying for AP exams: Start thinking about AP exams during December break; this gives you the freedom to plan out how you are going to approach the exam and gives you plenty of time to study.
- February/March: Start studying and reviewing everything you have covered so far. Make sure you get enough practice AP exams in. You need to understand the timing and format of the exam. Open your prep book if you haven’t already by this point.
- April-May: If your teacher hasn’t gone over all the material on the exam yet, go over it yourself. Practice as much as you can in the last month. Make sure you understand the free response portion of the exam (timing). Make sure you understand how the graders grade the different sections. Studying for one exam is much different than studying for 3 or 6; allocate your time accordingly. If you procrastinate, you will burn out because you will be studying extensively during AP exam week.