#highschooltips

I genuinely didn’t expect searching for high schools to feel this emotional.

At first, I thought I just needed a simple list of the best high schools in California.

But after weeks of researching rankings, districts, AP programs, reviews, Reddit threads, and parent groups, I realized most parents are actually searching for reassurance more than rankings.

Because deep down, we’re all wondering the same thing:

“Will my child actually be happy there?”

Some schools look perfect online but feel incredibly stressful when you talk to real students and parents.

Others may not rank at the very top but offer:

supportive teachers

balanced academics

safer environments

stronger communities

And honestly, those things matter so much more than I expected.

One thing I wish more people talked about is student pressure.

Some California high schools are academically amazing but emotionally exhausting for teenagers. That doesn’t mean they’re bad schools — it just means every child fits differently.

I also learned that school culture matters more than rankings.

Is the environment collaborative or competitive?

Do counselors actually help students?

Are arts and extracurriculars respected?

Does your child feel comfortable there?

Those questions changed the way I approached our school search completely.

If you’re currently researching the best high schools in California, my advice is simple:

Don’t only search for the “top-ranked” school.

Search for the place where your child can realistically grow, feel supported, and still enjoy being a teenager.

That balance matters more than most people admit.

[Video]: Barbara Oakley: “Learning How to Learn”. 

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Test yourself on everything, all the time. 

Use flashcards for all subjects (stem and the arts). Flashcards are not just for language learners. Great poets often say, “memorize the poem, because you will feel the passion and the power of the poem much more deeply”. Memorize equations and think about what it really means; this will help bring out the richness of what you are learning.

Do homework problems more than once. You don’t have to do all of the problems over again, pick some of the key ones and see if you can do it again. Go through all the steps, and if you can, play it almost like a song in your mind. 

Recall. Resist the urge to over underline or over highlight when reading. It is more effective to write, because it is neurally encoding the ideas you are learning. Then after reading, simply look away and see what you can recall.

Study judiciously with classmates or colleagues.

It’s September and that means school is starting up again. While some of you may already be in class already and some have yet to start, these are some tips that will be beneficial to everyone! No matter what stage you’re at, it’s never too late to take a quick read. 

Be smart about taking notes: Taking notes in class is helpful, but you have to be smart about it if you want to save a lot of time. It will make things a lot easier if your teacher handed out notes before the lecture but if he/she doesn’t, it’s okay. Remember, you want to take notes of the main topics covered in class and summarize them. Don’t waste your time writing down the little irrelevant details and focus on the main topics for everything. Small details can always be returned to later on. Another thing for note-taking is not wasting your time trying to make everything look nice. The purpose is to get the knowledge down on the paper for future reference and studying. If you prefer to study by copying it down over and over again, you can do so in your free time. Don’t worry too much about how it’s going to look. 

Come prepared to class: Always come prepared to class. Having the right materials and all the work done will make your day so much easier. It’ll also make your instructor so much happier too! You don’t necessarily need to enjoy the work (I know I don’t) but it will be better if you just were prepared for the worst. Keep yourself organized, do the work, and you’ll be breezing through the year! 

Manage your time well: If you want to have enough time for yourself and for school, you will need to learn how to manage both worlds. Using an agenda or a schedule is a good way to see how much you time for yourself between school and extracurriculars. It’s also great for staying organized and knowing what to study or have to do homework. Don’t let one side overtake the other though. You’ll ideally want to have a healthy balance of personal time and time devoted to academics/extracurriculars.

Be sure of your course choices: When I say this, I mean be happy with your course choice and schedule. Don’t choose something you know you won’t enjoy or just because your friends chose it (unless the both of you like the same subject). The secret to feeling motivated at school is actually being interested in classes you are taking. Always trust your own judgement on courses and don’t let others persuade you into doing something they want!!

Don’t forget to do the things you love: This one is especially important. I personally know how easy it is for us to get caught up in our academics throughout the year and I want to remind you that you can always find some time to do what you love. If painting relaxes you, take as much time as you need! If playing soccer is a stress-reliever, go ahead and play! School is important but being in your calm place is still the top priority. It’s okay to drop everything and just do what you love. You’re not wasting time if it’s something that you are passionate about. 

Don’t worry so much about the little things: In the middle of our busy school lives, there is for sure drama to come along with it (especially high school). You can choose to ignore every other point on this post, but remember, these things will pass and you probably won’t even remember these people in the next 5 years. Teen drama is just a tiny part of our lives. Trust me, these things will not matter at all in the future. Focus on doing what you love and try to look at the bigger picture of life. 

I can’t believe the month of October is almost over! There are only two months left of the fall semester! This is the time of the year when the temperature decreases as workload steadily increase. Midterms are on their way and the holidays are but a jingle away. Are you mentally prepared to handle it all? The fall/winter semester has to be the most stressful for students which is why I have four tips of ways to manage your time and be more organized.

1. Buy a planner

I think the best thing you can do if you’re having trouble balancing too many classes, a work schedule and assignments is to get a planner to organize and set reminders. Writing down a routine can help you build a pattern and cutting down on late assignments and all-nighters. The key to managing your planner is to write down as soon as you hear/receive information. Make this a habit and your planner will improve your mindset.

2. Make to-do lists

It can be very overwhelming when there are so many things due and you have a limited time to finish it all. But there’s something about making a list and crossing things down that feels so satisfying. Make a list of all the things you have to do in a day according to the closest to the due date or difficulty. Personally, I don’t like doing things at the last minute so making a list of what’s relevant based on its due date can really help ease the stress.

3. Turn off your television/ phone  

If you only have until midnight to complete assignments or projects then all your focus should be on finishing them. I’m guilty of having my tv on or my phone nearby and being distracted by it. Time passes by quickly while you’re strolling your social media feed or watching Netflix so shut it off until you’re finished studying or doing homework. I found that playing relaxing music in the background can help lighten your mood and increase your focus. There’s a large selection of live stream videos on YouTube specifically to use for background music for studying. (For example: lofi hip hop radio – beats to relax/study to)

4.Prioritize your time

Grades versus Learning: Thu Feb 1 (mp4 video)

With so many aspects of academia being based on grades, such as admittance and scholarships, it is easy to see why many students are grade focused.  However, research indicates that some students become so grade focused that it actually negatively affects their grades.  In this seminar, we will discuss the advantages of focusing on learning rather than on grades and strategies for doing so.

Advanced Learning Strategies: Thu Feb 15 (mp4 video)

In recent years, the University of Waterloo has put considerable effort into improving teaching.  Methods designed to improve student learning such as 'flipped classrooms', 'cooperative learning', and 'active learning' are being employed by more and more instructors across campus.  In this seminar, we will discuss what principles these methods are based on, how you can maximize their effectiveness, and, most importantly, how you can use these strategies even when your instructor is not employing them.

Illusions of Competence: Thu Mar 8 (mp4 video)

Many, if not most, students have had the experience of feeling prepared before writing a test only to discover, either when writing the test or when receiving the mark for the test, that they were not as prepared as they believed.  Such illusions of competence are often caused by using study habits that do not match the conditions of the test, for example referencing notes or looking at solutions during practice.  In this seminar, we will discuss learning strategies designed to help you avoid having an illusion of competence.

Getting Help: Thu Mar 22 (mp4 video)

The key to success in any field is getting help.  Olympic athletes would not have achieved as much without the help of their trainers, physiotherapists, sports psychologists, and fellow athletes.  Of course, it is also quite easy to get too much help, for example having someone just give you the solution to a problem.  In this seminar, we will discuss how to find the balance between getting not enough and getting too much help, and how to maximize the benefit of TAs, tutors, and cooperative learning.

Recommended viewing:

Learning how to learn by Barbara Oakley, Oakland University. TED talk, 2014, 17 minutes.

Learning how to learn by Barbara Oakley, Oakland University. Learning Technologies Symposium 2016 keynote lecture, Learning technology Symposium, McMaster University, 2016, 65 minutes.

Grit: the power of passion and perseverance by Angela Lee Duckworth, University of Pennsylvania. TED talk, 2013, 6 minutes.

How we learn with Robert Winston by Robert Winston.

Hi everyone! Recently, I have just graduated from high school and I would like to make a guide for rising seniors based on what I have experienced. This guide is mainly for american high schoolers.

Standardized Testings

SAT VS ACT

-To the admissions office, it does not really matter which one you do. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so  I advise everyone to take BOTH tests to see which one complements their abilities better. 

WHEN SHOULD I SEND MY SCORES?

- Usually colleges need their scores to be set around their Regular Decision deadlines in January. With this I would definitely recommend in taking the December SAT/ACT date as it is the last chance to improve your score (if you are not going to spend time to prep for it, there won’t be a need in taking it again as it is just a waste of time and money). 

College Applications

WHEN SHOULD I START?

- I recommend to start college applications and college essays ASAP whenever the portal and prompts are out in the summer. Once senior year begins, it will be a rollercoaster with AP classes, sports, clubs, and standardized testings. A lot of colleges use an application called the Common App to submit applications, so start inserting your information into your profile now!

FAFSA (Free Application For Student Aid)

- FAFSA is the financial aid application. It usually becomes available to file in October, but you can create your FSA ID now. You will be needing an FSA ID for BOTH you and your parents. With this ID, you will be able to complete your FAFSA application.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

When should I start?

- Start thinking about the teachers that you think would write a good letter of recommendation for you. Once school starts, ask your teacher if they are willing to write a recommendation. I highly would ask them in person and not via email or other form as you are asking for a favor. I would also ask them as soon as possible because other students may ask the same teacher for a recommendation as well; your teacher probably will have a certain limit to how many letters she is willing to write. 

How many teacher letters of recommendation do I need?

- Depending on the school that you are applying to you might need 0-2 letters of recommendation from teachers. 

Who should I ask?

- Do not believe the myth that colleges would want a recommendation from a specific department like science or math. You should ask someone that knows you very well and would write good things about you.  Usually teachers from your junior year are good because they have recently taught you in their class in comparison to someone that taught you in 9th grade, but any teacher will do. For my letters of recommendation, I asked my band director (because he has known me all throughout high school from band class and marching band), and my foreign language teacher (also because she knows me very well as she taught me through all four years).

Counselor’s letter of recommendation?

- Of all the schools that I applied to, every single one of them required a counselor’s letter of recommendation. Sometimes this is the only letter that they require for you to submit. As I had a lot of people in my grade, the counseling office had us and our parents separately turn in a form that included information regarding achievements, sports, clubs, and personality. This helped the counselors in my school to write their letters. If you have a similar thing in your school, please DO NOT be shy to brag about all of your achievements. This goes out to your individual college application as well when they ask for honors and achievements. 

COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAYS

- I think that the essay of an application is the most important thing because if it is that good, no matter how bad your academic stats are, it can get you in. It is a part of the application that you have absolute power on. 

- Many of the college essays are already available by the schools. Check the school’s website to look at the prompts. As I have mentioned earlier, a lot of the schools use the Common Application. The Common app essays are already available to view, so go get started! Note the common app essay is required in addition to any other essays that a school might ask of you to write. 

- In your senior English class (English 12, AP Literature, DE English), you may have time set up by your teacher to work on your essay. Make sure to use this time wisely to work on it AND ASK for your teacher or a classmate to look at your writing. If this time is not offered in your class, go in before or after school to have your teacher look at your essay. I am pretty sure they will be happy to look at it for you and give feedback. It is very important for you to get feedback about how you can do things better and for double checking grammar/mechanical mistakes in your writing. 

What should I write about?

- All of the prompts are broad in a way that you are able to write about ANYTHING. I would recommend that you would write about something that you are really passionate about or would show your character. You want to avoid giving away basic or typical answers because you are trying to stand out from everybody else. The admission office reads ton of essays, so try to make them remember yours by making it unique. For inspiration, try to read essays that has worked (you can search on the internet). 

EXTRA ESSAY PROMPTS

- If a school that you are applying for gives you the option of writing 1-3 essays, then DO ALL OF THEM. This will show that you are very committed in trying to get in their school. It will increase your chance of admission. 

DO YOU DANCE, SING, OR PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?

- Some colleges allow you to send in a supplement portfolio through slide room where you can send in a video of you doing your talent. 

SENIOR YEAR CHECKLIST

SUMMER TIME

~ Sign up to take the SAT/ACT

~ Set up common application account

~ Create  FSA IDs for you and your parents

~ Start Common App and College Essays

~ Brainstorm which teachers to ask for writing your letters of recommendation

SCHOOL YEAR

~ Ask teacher(s) to write letters of reccomendation

~ Go to any college application bootcamps if offered at school

~ Continue to write essays

~ Ask an english teacher to look at your essay

~ Create FAFSA (around October)

~Take standardized tests

**PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK ME QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY!!**