High school is often portrayed as the best years of a person’s life, the time before college, jobs, families, and the stresses of adulthood. At the same time, common media depictions of high school struggle to portray the truth of the difficulties of the transition between middle school and high school. Becoming a freshman certainly means that it’s time for you to think about all aspects of your school life in a different way.

Freshman year means new classes, new teachers, and in the case of many schools, a brand new location that you have to get to know progressively over the first few weeks. It might be daunting at first, or you might think that these changes matter little to you. Either way, you’ll find yourself quickly acclimating to the demands of your new locations.

Many freshmen in high school find themselves overwhelmed by the new social and academic scene. High school tends to translate to more intense classes, more personalized educational choices, more tests, new friends, and new after school commitments. Sorting through all of this can be difficult, especially the test preparation.

Freshmen should make sure to understand why test prep should be one of their top priorities, right up there with all the other new, exciting facets of high school. Most states have standardized tests that with a little knowledge and preparation one can open gateways to honor and advanced classes, as well as recognition at graduation.

High school freshman are obviously aware of the SAT, SAT IIs, and ACTs, the gateway tests to college education. Even if taking these tests seems like a long way off, becoming a high school freshman means that these test have to be taken seriously, as they help to shape your educational future. You should get to know the test preparation offered at your school, and begin planning when you might want to take the tests. After that, additional test prep on your own and through accredited services beginning from freshman year will help prepare you to do well on all of your upcoming tests.

The fact of the matter is, becoming a high school freshman means that your education will play a larger part in your life, and even students used to breezing through classes will find themselves needing to work harder than before. High school classes are more interesting but also more challenging, and the wealth of new social experiences can mean busy days and lots of extra time spent at your high school.

Becoming a high school freshman is an important milestone and it requires adjustment on multiple levels. As new and exciting experiences await you around the corner, you should do your best to adjust and seek out areas where you can truly flourish in high school.