I graduate in May 2020. Looking back, I think I made a lot of really good decisions when choosing which classes to take and which activities to get involved with. However, I had to speak with many older students to figure out the best choices. The advice and council along with luck has helped me out a ton, but I understand that not everyone has access to those resources. So, here are my top tips for rising RHS Freshmen. But first, here is my resume.
What I did in High School:
- Earned Eagle Scout at 16
- 4 years of Class Band and Marching Band
- Young Republicans Club Co-President
- Tech Help Desk Founder and President of 3 years
- Tech Crew for Theater (Soundboard)
- National Honor Society (11-12), Beta Club (10-12)
- Dual Enrolled English at GSU
- Electives in German & Computer Science
College Plans:
Computer Science and Public Policy at a Georgia University for a career in Cybersecurity.
Top Tips:
- Freshman Year grades are the Most Important! They buffer Junior year grades. Students may not try as hard freshman year because they think it doesn't matter. Freshmen Classes are an opportunity! These are the easiest classes you will take at High School, so make high grades then so that when your numeric average gets slaughtered by the classes you take Junior year, the damage to your overall GPA is not as severe. Shoot for Honors and AP classes, but don’t sacrifice your extracurriculars to take many rigorous classes. Colleges want to see you involved outside of academics. Sometimes students with the best grades get denied or differed from top colleges because they did not get involved outside of academics. Four years of Fine arts, the same Foreign language, or a career tech (Engineering, Computer Science, Video Tech, Cosmetology) look great on transcripts.
- RHS adds 7 points for Honors or AP to your RHS Numeric Average (0-100 Scale), though your GPA (4.0 Scale) as seen by HOPE and Colleges may be calculated differently. Your HOPE GPA is calculated on gafutures.org. Even though Roswell's 7 points will make a grade above 82.5% in an Honors class an ‘A’, it is still important to strive for the 89.5% so you have an ‘A’ factored into your unweighted GPA. This is critical in the college applications and scholarship process. Your 8th-grade grades may count into your High School GPA (Honors World Language, Math, and others), so it is important to do well in 8th Grade because those grades MAY matter.
- AP Human Geography is a great AP prep class, but understand that it is tough, is factored into your GPA, and is not required for graduation (Most colleges recognize it as an elective, not a Social Studies). Many students take AP Human Geography because they think it is required, but this is not the case. 10th Physical Science taken in 8th Grade may not be enough of a physics credit for Colleges. My original 4-year plan did not include Physics because I thought I already had the credit. My counselor became concerned that Georgia Tech would not accept my lack of AP Physics when I applied there.
- If there is a class you want to take for four years, i.e. fine arts, language, career tech, etc., consider taking health online this summer. I did this the summer before 9th Grade. This was an excellent choice because it was an easy class and it allowed me to have more flexibility in my schedule.
- Also, look at the list of activities that waive your Personal Fitness credit. Two years of Marching Band will count, as well as JROTC and other sports.
- Create a 4-year plan (6 periods, 2 semesters, 4 years) to determine when you will take each of your credits for each subject required for graduation. Here was mine:
9th Grade (Full Year)
Social Studies - AP American Government (No longer available to freshmen as of 2017)
English - On Level 9th Lit
Science - Honors Biology
Math - Honors Accelerated Geometry B and Algebra B
World Language - Honors German II
Fine Arts - Intermediate Band
10th Grade (Full Year)
Social Studies - AP World History
English - On Level 10th Lit
Science - Honors Chemistry
Math - Honors Accelerated Pre Calculus
World Language - Honors German III
Fine Arts - Mastery Band
11th Grade (Full Year)
SS - AP US History
English - On Level 11th American Lit
Science - AP Computer Science
Math - AP Calculus BC
World Language - Honors German IV
Fine Arts - Advanced Band
12th Grade (Fall Semester)
English - Dual Enrolled Lit at GSU
Science - AP Physics
World Language - AP German
Fine Arts -Mastery Band
Elective - Work Based Learning (AVID Tutor)
Elective - TAG Directed Study (In Cybersecurity)
12th Grade (Spring Semester)
English - Dual Enrolled Lit at GSU
Science - AP Physics
World Language - AP German
Fine Arts - Mastery Band
Social Studies - AP Macro Economics
Social Studies - AP Comparative Government
Hopefully my experience and advice can help you navigate the many confusions that come along with High School.
Comments