What To Expect Your Freshman Year of High School

Freshman year of high school is a big transition for any student. Whether you’re moving to a big regional school, starting at a new private school, or continuing at your same school, the beginning of ninth grade signals change on a number of different levels.

You’re probably starting new clubs and exploring new extra-curricular activities. You are selecting classes with an eye toward your future and beginning to think about college. All of this is happening on top of making new friends as well as maintaining old friendships, too! There’s a lot to juggle.

Anticipate Higher Expectations

There are many ways in which high school differs from middle school. One is that there are higher expectations in the high school. You’ll find that you’re expected to keep closer track of your own schedule and responsibilities, with fewer people checking up on you. At the same time, your classes are likely to become more challenging; and, you might be learning the ropes of a few new extra-curricular activities, too.

At first, some students find it hard to keep up with everything. This is totally normal. One way to prepare in advance for the higher expectations is to ensure that you have a solid organization system in place before you start high school. Get familiar with using a planner and a calendar to keep track of your own assignments and commitments. Build time management skills and learn to prioritize. Click on the posts below to find how to get organized and stay that way!

Time Management for Tests

Help Your High School Student Get Organized

Eight Tips to Use Your Time Efficiently and Stay Organized in High School

Learn Self Advocacy

Another critical skill for meeting these higher expectations is building a strong support network. No matter how strong a student you are, at some point, you’re bound to need some help. Maintaining healthy relationships with your peers, mentors, and teachers is a great way to make sure that you have people who are willing to help when you need them.

Try to get to know at least some of your teachers beyond your classroom interactions. Be an engaged learner during class and stay after class to ask questions. Utilize email or class messaging systems. The better your teachers know you, the better prepared they’ll be to help when you need them.

Finally, always ask for help when you need it. Don’t wait until you’re drowning in work and commitments to admit that you need a hand. Instead, lean on your support system to help keep you afloat while you’re getting it all figured out.

Don’t Aim for Perfection

Another important thing to keep in mind as you start high school is that no one is perfect. If you expect yourself to be, you’ll nearly always fall short. Transitions are hard for everyone, and starting high school is a big transition. You might not select an appropriate course load right off the bat. You might over-commit to clubs or find yourself bored without enough extracurricular activities. You may even get lost on your way to class on your first day. Like we said, no one is perfect.

Instead, expect to give your best effort and accept its results. Even Ivy-league bound graduates can remember times that they failed. If you want to succeed, don’t let failure hold you back. Embrace it, use it as a learning opportunity, and grow stronger and smarter because of it. You might even be able to laugh at it someday, too.

Reinvent Yourself

This is your chance! Remember that creepy nickname you thought was so cool in fifth grade? Or that role you took on in the yearbook that you didn’t really like but it somehow followed you for three full years? We have some great news for you.

High school is a great opportunity to reinvent yourself.

Odds are, you’re probably starting school with a lot of new faces, and even if you aren’t, it’s reasonable to expect that most of the familiar ones have done some maturing over the years.

Before you start ninth grade, think about who you really want to be and how you really want to be known. Not just things like the varsity football captain or student council president, although those are great goals too. We mean things like the guy who holds the door for people or the girl who always says "hi" even if you don’t know her name. Will you be a student who goes to study sessions and stays late to meet with teachers when he or she needs extra help? Will you volunteer to help when no one else does?

Think about it—who do you really want to be? This is your shot.

Start Thinking About College

Yup, we said it. While it seems early, freshman year is a great time to start wrapping your head around your education after high school.

You can start by keeping a casual college list and researching what kinds of grades and other requirements are needed to get into the kinds of schools you’re interested in attending.

Now is also the time to crack down on academics so that your grades are the most desirable from the start of high school . Remember that colleges can and do review your grades from all four years of high school. While some stumbling points during freshman or sophomore year can be overcome, your best bet is to maintain strong grades throughout all four years of high school.

Finally, if you’re starting high school and you feel you need help...get to know your School Counselor. Everything they do is confidential. If you're feeling overwhelmed, negative, stupid, need a tutor, have a friend issue, these are the adults you need to see. They will help you in so many aspects of high school, but they can't help if you don't ask!