Dear Underclassmen… : Advice from the Class of 2024
The school year in Leonia High School is slowly nearing its end. Everyone is excited to finally be done with school and relax during their summer vacation. The seniors, however, are getting ready to head on to college and will be leaving a legacy for the younger grades. As students who have gone through all the highschool years, it is important for the younger grades to learn some kind of advice from the older kids. With a word of advice and wisdom, the seniors can significantly help the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors by sharing and recommending on what to do to excel as much as possible for the remaining years of high school.
One of the seniors shared some advice that could be very helpful for the younger grades. Senior Aleidy Mejia Diaz said, “I would recommend taking school more seriously. It might not seem important at first but everything adds up for college since they check your past records and transcripts. Plus, [all] four years affect your GPA, and it’s important to do your best and keep trying because one test won’t end you. I really wish I put in more effort and took better classes to boost my college applications during my freshman year.” Utilize every single year as much as you can to make sure that you keep all of your future options open.
Choosing colleges and majors can be very stressful for a lot of students, especially for those that don’t know what they want to do. Whether it is about money, location, or something else, it is always difficult choosing colleges. Senior Regan Lynch said, “My advice would be to visit the colleges, don’t make your decision based on someone else’s opinion, and choose a school based on what you feel and want because you are the one who is going to attend and live there. Also, don’t pick a school just because of the school’s name because bigger isn’t always better. It’s important that you choose a school that has the best program for your major since that is the reason you are going to go there.” That is very good advice that should even be shared with the seniors and not only the younger classes.
Senior Nour Karakus has also given some advice on how to choose a career or major for the future, sharing, “I think it is really important to consider your interests, skills, and values. You should think about what subjects or activities you enjoy as well as what kind of work environment you want to be in. It’s also really important to choose a major that can get you a successful job for the future so you can make good money.” It’s always important to think about what you want to do after high school that you will enjoy doing while getting good money.
Throughout your high school years, it is impossible to be completely perfect in everything, including grades and especially the social life. According to Nour Karakus, “I would recommend to not focus on your friends too much, and don’t say that you are just a freshman or sophomore and that you don’t have to do work because it’s important to complete it. I mostly regret not doing enough work in school because it affects the position you’ll be in [when you apply for] college.”
Students, especially juniors, stress about the SAT testing all the time. It is a stressful event for many students who are taking the test because it could significantly help improve their chances of getting into colleges. On the other hand, Regan Lynch has reported saying, “You don’t always need it unless you are going to a competitive school. I got into 11/13 schools without taking the test. I didn’t apply anywhere too competitive, but the schools were still considered to be challenging to get into. Don’t stress too much on the SAT’s.” This could come as a surprise for many students. Unless you are going to an extremely competitive school, the SAT’s might not be the leading factor to getting into colleges.
Leonia High School will miss the class of 2024, especially after the impact that they had on the school. Underclassmen should always look up to seniors as they have a lot of wisdom and advice that they could share. This advice and wisdom could really help the younger students as they get older and near junior or senior year. It’s important that the seniors have learned so much throughout their high school years because this means that they have mentally matured and are ready for adulthood.
Good luck Leonia High School Class of 2024!
