Advice for Freshmen

By the Class of 2026

College Prep's Class of 2026

Hey College Prep! We know that the transition to high school is difficult for everyone and sometimes you may worry about a lot of things and have no idea what to do. Even as you progress through high school, you are constantly learning and growing. It can be helpful to hear the words of those who passed through CPS and their reflections on their experiences, so here is a compilation of some of the Class of 2026’s answers to the question:

“If you could give advice to your freshman year self, what would it be?”

Athena A: Get curious. Just get interested in things and people, because you're not going to be perfect, and no one else is going to be either, but you just have to get curious about the world around you, and that's how you'll work towards truth.

Ari B: Relax. Don't be stressed about anything. Have fun.

Abidan A: I would probably tell myself to just focus more on myself and not to let too much outside noise get to me, or like, don't let other people influence my decisions or what I want to do.

Anton M: Try to get better grades.

Camille W: Freshman year, I had a really weird sleep schedule. I was getting enough sleep, but it was broken up into three- to four-hour increments throughout the day. That was definitely not the best. So yeah, I’d tell myself to fix my sleep schedule and just get a solid eight hours in a night. 

Claire VM: I would say don't be afraid to try new things. And don't be afraid to embarrass yourself because it's all part of growth. 

Chris C: It would be to do more stuff with my friends, because I think freshman year especially I was very work-heavy. Which wasn’t bad — academically I did well — but I wish I spent more time getting to know everybody else. I don’t think I needed to spend as much time as I did on school and golf and other stuff.

Cerulean H: Meet with your teachers and stay on top of your work. I feel like I didn’t really develop these good foundations freshman year as I could have, which is something I regret.

Deirdre B: Oh my God, freaking calm down. I was so overly geeked in my freshman year. Just take a chill pill; you don't have to do everything.

Desiree B: Do work during your free periods, but don't only do work during your free periods. 

Devin LB: Believe in yourself. It sounds corny, but a lot of the things at College Prep that feel super stressful — and they are — become way more manageable if you take them one step at a time. You have so many resources around you, and everything’s within your control. And have fun with it — there are so many great opportunities here, and taking advantage of them is the best use of your time.

Forest M: Keep friendships open. Stay branched out and talk to the whole grade, not just people you're friends with. Don’t take everything so seriously. Just enjoy yourself – high school is a fun ride.

Hoda H: I feel like I know this, but it's worth restating and remembering from time to time. You know yourself best. So listen to your gut instincts. It's okay to take into account what other people are saying, but make the decision that feels truest to you regarding stuff.

Inez AW: I think my advice would be, don’t be too ambitious. Like, be ambitious and work hard for the sake of working hard, but also, go a lot easier on yourself. You don't have to feel like you're running out of time to do everything because you're literally just fourteen. Also, I would tell myself Good job trying things, and keep trying things out. I know there are lots of things in high school you want to do and, like, you'll be able to do them. But also, I would tell myself you don't have to feel like you're running out of time constantly. Like, remember to leave time for your friends and family and for, like, having fun for the sake of having fun. You don't have to be so worried about the future.

Isan S: Study more but don’t worry as much. There were definitely times when I could have locked in a bit more and studied more, and that would have been helpful, but I also think that I didn’t have that much to worry about. Don’t worry about the outcome that much.

Indrias G: To talk to people more. Be more outgoing.

Jinane E: I would say: do work as hard as you think you need to work, because that is definitely something that is going to equip you with, you know, strategies for your future. And I guess don’t take things super seriously.

James P: Be yourself. Schedule your time well. Make sure you have a good balance between, you know, working hard and playing hard.

JK Fa: Don’t worry so much about your grades and results, because everything will work out, and figure out how to manage your time.

JWoo: Try to talk to more people. I feel like it’s my senior year, so I’ve been reflecting a little bit. I met a lot of great people throughout my years here at CPS, and just talking to them, everyone is like super nice and has great things to say, so I wish I would’ve talked to them more and expanded out beyond my friend group.

Kate M: Do more stuff. Like, I thought I was so pressed for time freshman year! But when I look back, I had a lot of free time that I could have been using to go to a club, or trying a different sport or something. 

Kobi T:  I've always been a very self-critical person, and I would definitely tell myself that everything happens for a reason. Every mistake I made was just redirecting my trajectory to where I am today. I got to this school coming from a public middle school, and I struggled a lot academically, and it made me pretty academically insecure because of it. I had this very narrow-minded vision of what made someone a College Prep student, and I thought it was somebody who was really good in STEM and was on the nerdier side. And because I didn't fit my vision, I neglected this community because I didn't think I fit well into it. But Evie's a genius; every single person is admitted for a reason, and they're all supposed to make up a part of this community. And I think because I thought I wasn't smart, I didn't act smart, if that made sense. I would just tell myself to cut myself some slack. It's a new environment, and it's all going to work out, and everything happens for a reason. And to definitely stay confident in who I am, because despite not maybe having skills that align with the “typical College Prep student,” I have skills that will benefit me in the future.

Lila M: Probably don't stress out as much. Honestly, I think during freshman year, I was maybe a little too stressed about things that were really not in my control and that I didn’t need to be so worried about. I think this was a theme for most of my CPS experience. I think, as a second-semester senior, it's very easy to realize that I could have been doing what I did with a lot less stress and still do fine. I just chose to be a little more stressed out than I probably should have.

Levi C:  Ask for help. People need it. Even if you're embarrassed to ask for it, you need it.

Leo H: I would say meet with teachers more. I think I found myself struggling most in English classes in the beginning, and so meeting with them would have been very beneficial. But I think that what's more important than actually just getting the help from the teacher is building that relationship with the teacher. A lot of these teachers are very kind and very willing to help, and if you establish a bond with them, you could probably actually stay connected with them after you graduate. But I think it always helps to know a lot of teachers on campus because they can help you out in other ways that you might not foresee. Yeah, so better grades and better connections. I would say.

Liam H: Meet with more teachers.

Layla K: Take drawing and design. I never took it and when I graduate from College Prep, I will always think about how I never got to take drawing and design. I always thought that class was so cool, and I just never took it but now I’m  realizing I wish I took it. Recently I’ve been into drawing and art and so, I wish I had that background.

Marcus G: Mmm. It’s a little paradoxical for someone entering CPS and knowing that this is a very academically rigorous school. But I would say don't overfocus on the academics. 
You also have to remember that, like, balance is good. So you need to also seek out, you know, maybe, at least for me, trying to be a bit more, like, socially vulnerable and trying to, like, make those connections earlier. When I was in 9th and 10th grade, I was really focused on just, like, doing well in school, even at the expense of getting to know other people. Reflecting on that and how I changed that in my junior and senior year, it was kind of a mistake to kind of focus too much on academics. So if I could do it over again, that's what I would change. 

Max W: I think the biggest piece of advice I’d give myself is keep using your free periods well. Cause I know that freshman year I definitely took advantage of that, like I did all my homework during my free periods so I never really had to do anything at home, but as I got older I kind of stopped doing that.

Mina F: My advice to my freshman self would be to study more. Yeah, it would be to study more and travel less if that makes sense. It’s very specific. But I feel like in freshman year I did way too much stuff outside of school and not enough stuff inside of school, and it like set me up for not being as involved in school as I might have liked to have been. I think a lot of people at College Prep, they do a lot of their activities in school. And I kind of wasn’t one of those people and I would’ve wanted to do more within the campus.

Maddie R: I would tell myself to take advantage of the helpfulness of my teachers and ask for help more often, because that is something I definitely struggled with. There is so much wealth of knowledge here, and so I would tell myself to ask for help more.

Mihir M: Take advantage of more opportunities at CPS, like I could’ve joined more clubs and participated in more committees. Making more of an attempt to branch out to the community.

Noemie N: Take advantage of your free time and have fun doing things. Because I feel like, as I’ve gotten older I've definitely felt like I have less time to do things during my free blocks. But freshman year, I would always be, like, playing games with my friends, or playing volleyball, or just hanging out with people. 

Reier T: I mean, this is kind of boring, but probably just try more things freshman year. I think I was probably a little scared, probably too focused on trying to make friends, but I think there were a lot of opportunities I could have tried, and I could’ve learned more about myself faster through freshman year. There are a lot of opportunities to try different things, different types of activities. Overall, just try to do more.

Samuel S: I think probably to stress less. Like I don’t think my experience at CPS was as stressful as some people’s, but I also think it all, like, works out in the end. There’s no point in stressing out about stuff you don’t have control over. 

Sophia B: I think it would be to definitely stress way less, because freshman year actually does not matter, like that much. And I would have told myself to push myself to try new things and to find out what I like earlier on, especially clubs. Because I feel like I did not explore clubs at all freshman year and sophomore year, and I was kind of, like, I wish I had explored that. And I would have told myself to prioritize more social connections and discovering things I like for another year, so I would have been able to do activities throughout my time at CPS.