Senior Advice from the Class of 2020
Illustration by John Deering.
On behalf of the Pixel Journal, congratulations to the OHS Class of 2020! We especially applaud you for making it through and graduating in a particularly rough and historic year. Each one of you will be missed, and we wish you all the best of luck!
Before our seniors departed, Pixel Journal editor-in-chief Paige Yeung (’21) collected some of their advice for surviving and thriving in high school. Here’s what they had to say:
On academics
Ingrid Altunin (UC Berkeley): Make sure to have time for each subject each day to spread out how much you are working on assignments. Even just working on one subject for an hour, if that be studying or doing homework, will help a lot to solidify information and keep you on track and less stressed!
Ethan Liam Ishikawa (Rutgers University): Read the readings. It's fairly easy to get away with not doing that during one class, but it hurts you when finals come.
Jaime Mizrachi (Stanford University): Go to office hours, keep an agenda to be organized, and create structure for yourself.
Nicole Wu (UCLA): Make a schedule! Monthly, weekly, daily. Follow it religiously, and you will feel so much more productive and at ease.
With big assignments, make a separate schedule that gives you a timeline for what you'll work on each day. Breaking big papers or exam study down into multiple days or weeks and doing a little each time will take a lot of the stress out of the task.
Make sure to go to office hours for anything—just to chat with the instructor, ask specific questions, or even ask for guidance when you're totally lost for ideas.
Hannah Yang (Northwestern University): Communicate with your instructors! In the times where I've fallen behind in my schoolwork, I would have been a lot less stressed had I reached out to my teachers sooner to explain how I was feeling, and asked for extensions when I needed them. Your homework and essays will feel so much more fulfilling and allow you to explore fascinating topics at more depth if you're not rushing to put them together!
On the OHS experience
Ingrid Altunin (UC Berkeley): Make sure to find time to go outside and hang out with people in person. It’s very easy to stay in your room for days, but make sure to still live your life, even for a short period of time!
Ethan Liam Ishikawa (Rutgers University): Vary the activities in your day. If you do everything in the same place, you'll lose track of time and never get anything done. Clear boundaries to your time is key.
Jaime Mizrachi (Stanford University): Combine the OHS experience with that of your past friends back at home to have the best of both worlds.
Nicole Wu (UCLA): Put in the effort! The OHS is not the natural way of going to school, and it takes time and effort to stay connected. Keep up to date on the events and resources being offered, join Skype groups, and do your best to put yourself out there. And this is coming from a super shy person! It might seem scary at first, but you won't regret it.
Go to as many in-person meetups you can. The online experience can be very fruitful, but it can't compare to actually spending time with people in person. If you are shy like me, it can sometimes be easier to go to in-person events after getting to know people online. Then, you have someone you're comfortable with at the event instead of going in without knowing anyone (even though everyone at the OHS is very kind and you'd meet a lot of great people either way!).
Hannah Yang (Northwestern University): Most of my OHS advice is scattered throughout various Pixel Journal articles, but to summarize: go to office hours and get to know your amazing instructors! Invest time in clubs and school spirit! Be brave and start conversations with your classmates! The OHS experience is truly what you make of it. Let your time as part of this incredible community inspire you to always take initiative in creating a life that you love.
On friendships and relationships
Ingrid Altunin (UC Berkeley): Be your authentic and beautiful self!! It will always be awkward saying hi for the first time, so make sure to have fun with it!
Nicole Wu (UCLA): Same as my answer to the previous question, put in the effort. Since we're online, friendships can fade away if you're not actively pursuing them. We don’t get to have a constant reminder of people as we pass them in the hallways. Check up on people, schedule Skype calls, and do your best to stay connected.
This can be draining if you're not 100% real though! Be totally yourself and talk to people who you enjoy talking to. Don't burn out feeling like you have to socialize 24/7, but don't expect friendships to be as natural as they would be when you're forced into the same classroom or school building with your peers.
On the college application process
Ingrid Altunin (UC Berkeley): It is very easy to get lost in the stats and compare yourself to others but you need to remember that no one has the same story as you. You are unique — use that to your advantage.
Ethan Liam Ishikawa (Rutgers University): Don't stress over it. I know that's useless, but it's the correct answer. It's cool to go to fancy schools and such, but you can almost certainly get into a great college without all the stress. Stress is awful, skip the stress if you can.
Jaime Mizrachi (Stanford University): Start early and give it your all. It’s one time for the rest of your life.
Nicole Wu (UCLA): As hard as it is to do while you're going through the process, let it be (to a certain extent). Yes, you want to work hard, stay on top of things, and do the best you can. But don't try to control every little detail and variable. College applications are a weird, crazy thing. Holding on so tightly to try to control everything and stress about each little detail will only hurt your chances. Instead, work hard, but also let it go. There are many variables out of your control in this process, and stressing about them will only cause you to lose focus on the things you can control. Once you do what you can, just remember that you WILL end up where you are meant to be. Again, I know everyone says this, but it's 100% true.
Hannah Yang (Northwestern University): Take the time to reflect on your needs, the specific academic or extracurricular programs you hope to experience, and areas where you hope to grow in college. Apply to schools that you would genuinely be happy to attend (personally, I think a good guideline is to be able to summarize in at least 1-3 detailed sentences why you are excited to be applying to each school on your list). Most importantly, remember that there is no single 'right' school for you. You will have wonderful academic and social opportunities at many campuses!
On college admissions essays
Ingrid Altunin (UC Berkeley): Don't revise too much! Usually the original idea you had expresses who you are as a person the best!
Jaime Mizrachi (Stanford University): Start early and don’t be afraid of having a lot of different drafts.
Nicole Wu (UCLA): Start early! College admissions essays take multiple drafts before they're ready to be submitted, so don't expect to be able to write them (well) the week before like you might be able to with school essays.
Also, don't look at the sample essays. They can mess with your self-confidence in how you present yourself. Instead, spend some time in self-reflection and write about things YOU are interested in. Everyone says this, but it is so true: don't write what you think colleges want, write what YOU want. It will show, and you'll have a lot more fun writing it. Think about when you write research or philosophy papers at the OHS. It's a lot more fun if you're interested in what you're writing, like writing about virtue ethics because you find it fascinating versus writing about utilitarianism because you feel it's what the teacher wants. Approach your college admissions essays in the same way. If you like what you're writing about, it will show!
Last piece of advice on these essays: show, don't tell. Describe, paint a picture, use active sentences and verbs.
Hannah Yang (Northwestern University): “Good” college essays (ones that accurately and positively capture your character) take time. Start writing your college essays in the summer before senior year, including those for your regular decision applications. If one draft or idea doesn't feel right, keep experimenting with new ones instead of trying to force one idea to work! Remember that for most schools, admissions officers will receive multiple essays from you. With multiple essays, your resume, recommendation letters, and potentially an interview report, you have many opportunities to share different aspects of your life and personality.
On high school
Ingrid Altunin (UC Berkeley): 1. If you can go outside for a walk or breathe and just listen to the world around you and separate yourself from technology for a bit. 2. Get a planner!!! 3. If you want to try something and a teacher can help, email them and ask! 4. Use the resources at OHS. OHS has so many amazing teachers/staff and so many opportunities. Use them to your advantage and try things you never thought you would be able to do!
Ethan Liam Ishikawa (Rutgers University): People, particularly people in online schools, aren't nearly as scary as they seem. Push through that feeling and pretend you've been friends with everyone forever. People are much easier to handle that way.
Jaime Mizrachi (Stanford University): Try to be positive throughout the whole OHS experience. It will be worth it.
Nicole Wu (UCLA): Don't forget, in the midst of some of the craziest, busiest, most challenging years of your life, to devote some time to the things you love! Your family, friends, community, hobbies. Definitely focus on doing your best and working hard, as you should, but don't forget that high school takes place during your life, your one life. If some little things in school have to give, then let them go and take that call with an old friend, go to an impromptu lunch with the family, or spend an afternoon testing that recipe you always wanted to try. Obviously, I'm not encouraging you to slack off on your work because academics are super important. But don't forget to also live life a little, as cliche as that sounds. You got this! I and all the seniors from the class of 2020 are rooting for you :)
Hannah Yang (Northwestern University): Be open to opportunities. Try new things. Keep in touch with your friends. You can do it!
Responses edited for clarity and brevity.