Xatal

I noticed in high school that, for many students, yearbooks are either something to get every single year, or not at all. Some students buy a yearbook no matter what, but others completely refuse every year. Students always are told, “you’ll want a yearbook to look back on!”, but being young it’s hard to actually decide if that’s true or worthwhile.

Why buy a yearbook?

Having a yearbook is a cool way to be able to look back on the year. Looking back at pictures of yourself and your friends at different points in your lives can be pretty fun, and a great way to reminisce.

Plus, having friends sign your yearbooks is always fun. It’s cool to see what people have to say about you. Keep reading »

Senior year of high school already feels extremely short, and no part of it feels shorter than your last month. Even though the days themselves seem to go by slow, the month itself will zoom by before you know it. Since it’s your last real month in this era of your life, you should definitely enjoy it as much as you can.

Strengthen the friendships you want to hang on to.

Once you graduate, you’re not going to see most of your class again. Whether or not this is a good thing is up to you, but if you’re bummed about losing a lot of these people, then make an effort now. You’ll still have your good friends during the summer (and probably beyond), but make some plans to hang out with friends in your classes before it’s too late — if you strengthen the friendship now, you’ll be able to keep in touch after high school. Keep reading »

Asking a girl to prom can be pretty nerve-racking, even if you think she’s likely to say yes. There are all kinds of doubts swimming around in your head: what if she says no? What if I get nervous and mess up? What if I come across as weird?

Don't be afraid to ask a girl to prom

Having confidence is always the best way to handle any romantic affair — including asking a girl to prom. Being confident not only increases the likelihood of receiving a yes, it also will make it easier if she says no. However, confidence doesn’t come to everybody easily, and sometimes a push in the right direction can make a huge difference.

How are you going to ask?

If you’re trying to come up with a creative and cute idea to ask her to prom, that’s always a good choice, though I would only recommend it if you’re confident she’ll say yes (or don’t care if you get turned down). If you’re looking for cute ideas, I suggest you read my post that has some suggestions. I’m going to be assuming that you’re just going to walk up and ask her, however.

Keep reading »

Now that your college applications are (hopefully) submitted, it’s a good idea to start applying to scholarships. Many kids put them off until March or so, so by applying now you gain a few more opportunities to  win than you would otherwise have if you procrastinate.

Occasionally in high school, we would have opportunities to work on scholarship applications during classtime in a computer lab. Wherever I looked in the classroom, people were working on online scholarship applications, most found on the website FastWeb.

Although online scholarships are worth applying to, in actuality, they are not as effective uses of your time as a local scholarship.

Keep reading »

This is something I’ve actually been wondering lately.

Although every year of high school came with its own great teachers and bad teachers, when it came to my senior year, more of my teachers were laid-back when it came to students, yet still quality teachers.

By senior year, most of my teachers had the philosophy that we were adults, and therefore could do what we wanted provided we don’t disturb the class. This meant we were allowed to do several things that typically aren’t allowed in a high school setting:

• Use the bathroom when we needed to. We could just get up, grab the pass, and leave.
• Arrive late to class now and then. With an open campus lunch, this was a big deal. As long as it didn’t become a habit and didn’t disturb the class, there was no problem with it.
• We could readily negotiate tests, essays, and so forth. As long as we had good reasons, teachers were very flexible.

Teachers also began to talk to us like adults, making some classes more of a conversation than a lecture, which I actually found to be more educational than mindlessly copying notes from the overhead projector. The teachers were also typically some of the best the school had to offer.

Although I’m sure a lot of this comes from seniors being more mature, I’m wondering if some of it may also come from just the teachers I have. That’s why I ask for your opinion!

 Loading ...

If you have any other comments about your teachers and freedoms in high school, I’m very interested in hearing from you!

Last year when I submitted my college applications, I remember wondering often if I was sure enough of where I wanted to go to school. Now, my girlfriend is beginning to apply to schools, and she’s feeling anxious because she’s really not sure where she wants to go still.

You do not need to know which school you want to attend when you submit your application

Obviously, before turning in college applications, you have a nice variety of colleges to choose from. But once application due dates start hitting, your options will become much narrower. This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing, depending on how you want to look at it.

But whichever way, it’s important to feel at least some level of certainty with the schools you chose to apply to. You want each school you send an application to be a potential choice for you, not just some school you choose for the sake of choosing. Unless you have enough money to apply to schools simply for bragging rights, applying to schools on a whim is going to cost a lot of money (and time).

Here are some ways of helping to feel good about your choices:

Keep reading »

Senior year in high school can definitely be a bit hectic. Even though you’re trying to enjoy your final year in high school, you also need to keep an eye on all kinds of deadlines to make sure you don’t fall behind and miss out!

Forgetting important dates in your senior year is easy

Senior year is a big year, and it flies by, believe me. If you want to make sure you leave high school with every loose end taken care of, it helps to have a nice guideline of what to do as your year goes by. While individual parts will come with their own specific dates, some senior events will remain constant year to year.

I’ve come up with this timeline, going by what events happened during my senior year in high school. Hopefully, this list will help you out a bit. Please let me know if there’s anything important I’ve forgotten.

Keep reading »

A few of my friends who are going to be seniors next year have asked me if it’s worth taking AP classes during the senior year.

Now, my old high school always had us pick classes the year before, so we already knew what classes we would be taking come fall of the next year. I would imagine most other schools do it the same way, so by now you probably at least know what subjects you’re going to be taking next year.

But most schools also allow you to switch.

A good rule of thumb is to always sign up for tougher classes at first, then change out to an easier class. Harder classes are always offered less and it’s harder to get into them once they are full. Easier elective classes are plentiful, and you can switch between them easily.

So, assuming you’ve already at least signed up for some AP classes, you’re wondering if it would be worth your trouble as a senior to stay in them. The answer to that depends on your goals and what you’ve already worked towards. As I’ve said, senior year is important too, and so you definitely want to make the right choice.

Keep reading »