A letter from a senior: the academic letter

Dear Incoming Freshmen,

I know, you have made it. High school- big deal, right?

I just want to give you a few pointers and some things I wished I knew before high school that may make your experience so much easier and/or more fun.

For starters, from an academic standpoint, the workload will continue to get more difficult and the workload is greater BUT- it IS manageable! So many people have survived and even with my SEVERE case of senioritis, I, as well as most of my classmates will get to cross the stage in May. That being said, if we can do it, you can, too!

Grammarly will be your best friend!! It has saved many of my papers.

Purdue Owl is a great resource for MLA works cited pages, but take it from me, citationmachine.net does it for you… an ACTUAL blessing.

Get your Language credits over with, don’t wait to take them! Getting them out of the way will give you study halls as upperclassmen and you’ll be allowed to go off-campus, which is actually amazing.

Shmoop… okay so yeah, you probably should really read the books you are assigned cover-to-cover, but if you are behind or don’t quite understand something, Shmoop is a great resource that offers summaries, character analysis, and themes.

It is OKAY to use google to help you out. Now, don’t go google the exact answers to the questions/problems but, as my Sophomore English teacher once told me, Google is there for a reason- take advantage of your resources.

Khan Academy- I hate it with everything in me… but only because I was required to do it as an underclassman. It really is helpful and has literally any subject you could possibly need, including personalized SAT practice courses.

Speaking of the SAT, I hate that thing, but take it seriously, higher scores mean more scholarship money, which you and your parents will greatly appreciate later on.

With Hope,

A senior with a bad case of senioritis.

P.S.

Don’t cut class all the time but a few skips are totally okay, and I highly encourage it.

Also Sleep is a necessity so make it a high priority- you need it.