Freshman Year: Top Five Keys to Success

It’s never too early to start planning for life after high school. Whether you’re aiming for a four-year university, a two-year community college, a vocational or trade school, military service, full-time employment, a gap year, or something else entirely, having a goal in mind and an eye on the prize is pivotal to ensuring your success.

Over the next four weeks, we will be narrowing down the Top Five Keys to Success for each grade level, 9 through 12.

Freshmen, let’s start with you:

You may be thinking, I’m only 14! I just started high school! Graduation is four years away! I don’t need to think about it yet! And you would be wrong. First, ninth-grade is the most important year of high school: one’s success (or lack thereof) in ninth grade has astounding correlation to post-secondary achievement. Second, while you may have a few years to go, the preparatory steps you take now will pay out dividends later.

Set Goals

Perhaps the most important thing you can do — in any grade and at any age — is to set goals. In ninth grade, it is beneficial to start thinking big picture: what do you want to do career-wise? Does this goal require specialized training? Does it require a two- or four-year degree?

What is it you want to do, and what do you need to do to get there?

When you have the answers to these questions, it is much easier to plan and prepare accordingly.

Get Good Grades

Even if you are unsure about what your long-term post-secondary plans are, it is highly likely that one of your goals is to graduate from high school. In order to ensure that happens on time, it is imperative to focus in your classes, ask for help, do your work, and strive for solid grades. While you may be undecided as of yet on whether or not you want to go to college, if it is even a remote possibility, it is best to prepare like it’s a certainty. Accordingly, you should maintain as high a grade point average as possible, as that is one of the key elements considered in college admissions and scholarship monies.

Get rid of that middle-school mindset that grades don’t matter. As far too many upperclassmen can attest to, raising a tanked grade point average is a lot more difficult than maintaining a strong one from the start. Buckle down and focus on your academics.

Take Challenging Courses

While it is important to maintain a high grade point average, it is just as imperative to not skate by with the easiest classes you can find. First, take advantage of this opportunity for a quality education and learn as much as you possibly can; once you leave high school, learning from the experts can be quite costly. In order to reap the greatest benefits, it’s important to push yourself: if you are earning an A or a B in English this semester, enroll in the honors class next semester.

College admissions offices, scholarship committees, potential employers, and other entities who review high school transcripts will absolutely notice your grade point average, but they are also highly likely to go deeper into the document to see if you pushed yourself or did the bare minimum to just get by. It’s best to be in the former category. Here is why students should take AP Courses.

Get Involved

Academics are clearly important to success in high school and beyond, but just as essential is participation in extracurricular activities. First, it is important to socialize with peers; to establish a sense of belonging and community; to build social, leadership, and time-management skills; and to find, develop, and hone personal interests.

While it is important to continue with activities to which you have committed, it is also crucial to try new things and to get involved in a variety of clubs and organizations. For instance, keep playing soccer if that is your passion, but also try out for lacrosse, or the school play, or the church choir, or the debate team. Here are 12 reasons to get involved in an extra-curricular activity.

In addition to such activities, now is the time to start volunteering: find an hour a week or a day each month to regularly donate your time or energy to make your school, community, and world a better place. While philanthropy should be done out of the goodness of your heart, you can also reap the benefits of adding it to your resume.

Establish Positive Rapport with Teachers

Regardless of your post-secondary plans, you will undoubtedly have to request letters of recommendation, which generally come from school faculty and staff — more specifically the teachers with whom you interact on a daily basis. In order to receive the best possible reference, it is important that your teachers know you — and that they know you as both a student and as a human being.

Even more important than “using” these individuals for their esteemed recommendation, it is highly likely that there will be times throughout the next four years that you will need support at school — whether you are seeking advice on how to handle friend drama, asking about topics you are uncomfortable discussing with your parents, needing help dealing with another staff member, or something else entirely. Getting the help and support you need will be much easier — and more natural — if a positive rapport has already been established.

Graduation may still be four years away, but you will be amazed as to how quickly those years fly by, and it is essential to be prepared when they do.

Stay tuned for next week when we’ll discuss how to succeed as a sophomore.