As a Junior in high school, I have a butt load of work to do everyday, even during the summer. And ever since Common Core started, AP classes started assigning summer homework which contains everything from annotating books to planting beans, not only this but I also need to study for the SATs which are changing during next March (it might be January but I just planned on taking one in October and one in December). In addition to these things, I just have to study for my drivers license in which I still have not started. HOW COULD I POSSIBLY BALANCE THESE THINGS??

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Q: I'm a incoming Freshman and my parents want me to take summer school during my Freshman to Sophomore summer. What classes do you suggest taking? Is summer school really bad?

Red = Responsibilities

A: I'm not sure if my school has the same thing as you, but yes summer school is so different than what you expect. First it all depends on how many credits is the course, for a full year course it is 10 credits but for a semester course it is 5 credits. I think I've made a post about this before, but I suggest planning out your four years of high school with your parents right now, so you guys can figure out exactly what classes you are taking. At my high school, it is not suggested to take a foreign language and a science together but I definitely thought that I could have handled it, but I didn't do it because I wanted a easy freshman year, so I took a science. And since I took Bio during the year, and I wanted to take AP Bio the following year, it was reccomended that I should take Chemistry before AP Biology, so I did and that was my summer class. Don't ever take a math during summer because it is completely useless.

Always take either an elective or a science, I personally think that these two are the less stressful ones. For my summer school I had to be in class at 7:50 and if you arrive late 3 times, you will be kicked out, and you will not get your money back. These classes are like $600 each, so I always woke up at 6 everyday. Honestly, yes and no for the bad question. Yes because you have a test everyday, and you have to get up early AND there are a lot of homework. No because you get close with the people that are in class with you. 

Q: How do you memorize so much information in one night?

A: Again, this is a special case, it all depends on what kind of teacher you get. My friend and I both got a easy teacher, so we only both had one test per week covering all of the materials. As for my teacher, he offered so much extra credit that in the end, I got Bs on the tests and I still ended with over 100%. If you were to memorize so much information, I use the 7 times rule. For me, if I memorize something 7 times, it is automatically in my head. I know that it's not really practical but it helps me memorize a bunch of stuff (since I procrastinate a lot, I often study the night before so this helps.) 

Q: I know that summer school is reallllyyy long and it basically is on going for the whole summer. Is it worth it to take the classes?
A: It all depends. Summer school to me is the time to take classes that I wouldn't want to take during the school year, like Chemistry and Physics, so I don't look forward to the classes at all. If you're like me, then it's definitely not worth it. BUT if you need to fill an requirement to take another higher level class, then summer school is worth it because during the school year you can take the classes you want to take. 

Q: Do you ever plan your days out?
A: Before I used to, but I didn't follow the plan anyways so instead of planning it out, I just do the work for 1 hour at a time. Then take five minute breaks in between. The things that I do plan out though are things that I have a definite number like the amount of pages I'm suppose to read everyday for APEng, and the number of assignments that I have left. Other than that, I don't plan anything anymore because it just doesn't work out for me. You might be wondering what my agenda is for then, weeelllll I use it to remember the things that I won't be able to remember and write down future events like birthdays and meeting days. 
That pretty much covers everything that I know of. The best advice always comes from family, so if you have a older sibling, leech off info from them and if you are like me a single child, then come and send me questions and I will answer them for you. Until next time stay cool ma beans.