Advice from an Upperclassmen by Twila

Advice from an Upperclassmen by Twila - November 2014 Scholarship Essay

Going into a high school classroom for the first time can be a daunting experience. High school is significantly different than middle school, and eighth graders who have recently become high school freshmen often have a difficult time making the transition from the environment and expectations of a middle school to the environment and expectations of a high school.

As a senior, my first piece of advice to an incoming freshman would be to take grades seriously. In middle school, grades are less important than they are in high school. For example it is sometimes possible to pass a middle school class with a failing grade. Middle school teachers are often more likely to continue letting a student advance with their classmates than they are to hold a student back and force them to retake a class.

This is not the case in a high school setting. High school classes are worth credits, and if a student fails a class they do not receive credit for that class. If a student does not have enough credits to meet their school's requirements, they cannot graduate. In addition to this, the grades a student receives in high school contribute to their overall GPA. Grades from freshmen year are the first scores inputted into a students GPA, and if these scores are low, it will be very difficult for the student to bring the GPA up later in their high school career.

The grades a student gets their freshmen year will affect their future. If a students fails classes, they will eventually have to make up those credits somehow. This could mean attending summer school, graduating late, or participating in some equally unattractive option. Even further in the future, colleges will want take the students GPA into consideration when the student applies. This GPA will include the grades the student was given in their freshmen year, and their GPA will play a large role in whom a college decides to accept and who they decide to reject.

The best advice I can give high school freshmen is to walk into their first high school class prepared to learn and prepared to work hard for their grades. Yes, high school classes are difficult, and yes high school students have many things vying for their attention, but focusing on grades as a freshmen will save a student both the frustration of trying to bring up a low GPA and the embarrassment of graduating late because of a lack of credits.