Top 12 Things To Do If You’re Not In 12th Grade Yet

Myra S., Grade 12 

High school can be tough to navigate. Finding the balance between a social and academic life, while caring for your physical and mental health is a nearly unattainable goal. As your grade level increases, you will realize it is impossible to not make sacrifices in one way or another. It is important to note that this list is mostly academically focused, and you may have different priorities than me, therefore do not expect every point will be applicable to everyone. If you are not in 12th grade yet and are looking for things to do to make the most of your high school experience and prepare for the future, here are 12 recommendations that I would have found helpful when starting high school:

12. Have Fun

If you are in Freshman or Sophomore year, have as much fun as possible in your last 2 years of MYP. Go to parties. Binge TV. This may seem counterintuitive, but IBDP years are the most important years of high school, and it can be difficult to find time to have fun and relax. Note however, that having fun does not equal lagging behind at school. 10th grade will undeniably get tougher later into the year.  

 

11. Explore Extracurriculars

Sports, Arts or STEM. School clubs count for CAS and SA whereas afterschool activities don’t. Venture every possible avenue in 9th and 10th grades. It may seem like you do not have time. You do. Use it. Or shuffle your schedule around. Make time. It is through extracurriculars that many of you discover passions and make friends.  

10. Learn Stuff

If you find something interesting, research it, explore it as much as you can. Take online courses about it from Khan Academy, edX, Coursera and more and get certification. If the opportunity to grow and learn new things doesn’t seem motivating to you, an alternative lens of why this is beneficial is college applications. What you may realise around the middle of your Junior Year (11th grade) is that there were a lot of learning opportunities and activities that you should have explored that would have helped you with writing your applications (especially for the US, but certainly also helpful for everywhere else) and that you simply do not physically have the time to complete all the activities you could have. 

 

9. Talk to Your Teachers

Have any concerns about class material? Want to improve grades? Don’t understand something in class or feedback received on something? Talk to your teachers. It not only helps you to be better, but it also shows initiative and can help to build a good rapport with your teachers.   

8. Capstone Projects

Internships, Community Service, App-building, Song Writing, shadowing doctors, creating clubs. These are all leadership activities that you could pursue as short-term or long-long projects that demonstrate your passion. Additionally, these can be critical for university applications.  

7. Use Social Media

Follow official and unofficial IB channels across different platforms, Instagram, YouTube and Reddit are key. Sometimes they may just have funny memes, but other times they may have excellent insights for studying.  

 

6. Don’t Waste Your Summers

If you are in Freshman year, enjoy your summer, travel as much as possible. Soak in all the cultural experiences that shape a person’s perception. If you are in 10th grade, you are likely eager to relax after work experience, or are continuing work experience into the summer for 1 or 2 weeks and then having a blast. Stop. You are about to enter the dangerous waters of the IB. Before you decide to start having fun, you need to figure out small details. What are IAs? What is TOK? What is the EE? Acronyms that are much scarier than they seem.  Research them. Come up with potential ideas for each one that you could do. Research each of your subjects a bit, find tutors or support for the subjects you know you will need help in, identify the key topics and the difficult topics in the syllabus of each, understand the assessment style (there is a huge difference), know that many of these deadlines for IAs will be soon and there will also be a sharp decline in grades, so maybe try to study the 1st topics beforehand.  After you have done these things, you are a bit more prepared to start the DP than your peers.

 

5. Predicted Scores

They are the score that forecasts what your final score will be, and it is what many of you will apply to Uni with and they are based mostly on your performance in 11th grade and the very beginning of 12th grade. So, it is important to be well prepared at the end of 10th grade for the jungle that is 11th and 12th.  

4. Find a Study Method That Works For You 

SQ3R, the Feynman technique, blurting, the Pomodoro technique, Leitner system and countless others. Some of you may be familiar with these, some may be using these already, while others will be clueless. It is important to work smart, not hard. Try out some different study methods and find out what works best for you. Additionally, take the SAT (or ACT), even if you are not sure if you want to apply to the US, giving a standardized test can be an important learning experience and may be beneficial if you later decide to apply to the US. 

3. Value Your Time

Your future is a direct consequence of your actions now. Do not waste the present with people who are not supportive of your goals and dreams or have different priorities than you and ridicule you for being passionate. Focus on improving yourself and doing your best. 

2. Start Early

Whether it be Personal Project, E-Portfolio, Extended Essay or IAs (Internal Assessments), starting early is crucial, because work tends to pile up fast. Everyone assumes that they will get work done over the summer. They don’t. It’s as simple as that. Yet everyone thinks that they are the exception. They aren’t. You’ll soon find out. For personal project, you should be thinking about what your product should be for the whole year in 9th grade, constantly brainstorming, because there is a very short window between when the school officially introduces the Personal Project and when they want your proposal. This short window is really applicable for everything mentioned earlier as well. That is why you have to work on your own timeframe, not the school’s, as long as your timeframe is earlier than the school’s.  

 

1. Plan Your Future

While some of you may know exactly what you want to do, others may have no idea. That’s completely okay. If you haven’t yet found something you are 100% passionate about, do not freak out, that nearly all of us. However, it may be suddenly urgent to decide your future because you are at the crossroads of picking your subjects and subsequently your future. Yes, the way I said it seems scary. That’s because it definitely is. It is much more important than teachers and counsellors let on. These are the subjects you apply to university with. Pick an irregular combination and you will suddenly find yourself unable to apply to your dream college. I strongly recommend researching the top ranked universities for the field you are interested in and finding out the subject requirements. If you don’t know what you are interested in yet, research up and coming fields that hold promise in the future, see if any of them pique your interest or if the subject area overlaps with a subject that you like or are good at. Once you find a field you like, pick the required subjects for it. You can always find your passion later and pursue it as a hobby or potentially change your subjects (highly recommend doing as early as possible if you must). 

 

General Advice for all:  

Take Care of Yourself. Your health is the most important thing. Physical and mental. Reach out to your family and friends if you ever feel like you aren’t doing well. Talk to your teachers, despite what it may seem, they’re not your mortal enemies. They can reduce stress and problem solve with you if you communicate effectively. Reaching out for help can sometimes be the hardest step but it can provide you with the support you need.  

Coping mechanisms can certainly relieve stress, but others can inadvertently cause more. I am a master procrastinator and I tried them all: scrolling, videogames, YouTube, music, Netflix, books and more. I definitely continue many of these today because destressing is a very unique process, but I make active efforts to stop practices that I found unhealthy, like scrolling on social media. What some of my friends and I have found to be ‘productive ways to waste time’ are cleaning our room, cooking meals, organizing our calendars, decluttering our desktops, safely walking while listening to audiobooks or songs, and more. It’s important to find what works for you and what doesn’t. It’s also important to realise when you need to try something new or need external support. 

 

 

If you are trying to set a certain routine or bring change into your life, it will – needless to say – be hard. You will face many setbacks, and sometimes think, “Yes, I’ve found success”, but if you meet your goal one day, it is just as hard to meet it the next. In the beginning you will not find consistency, and that’s okay, just keep trying and eventually it will become muscle memory, a mere habit for you and that’s the true goal.  

Good luck! 

Bibliography: 

 smart.ib.memes. https://www.instagram.com/smart.ib.memes/?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D. Accessed 10 November 2023.