Stepping into high school is overwhelming because freshmen walk in knowing that it’s nothing like middle school. In middle school, you’re getting used to the complexity of academics while enjoying your life as a stress-free child. But in high school, the pressure is real. It’s the time of your life where you’re solidifying friendships, being piled with homework, and planning your future. This is stressful because freshmen are introduced to this right when they start high school, and they get no preparation beforehand.
This is how upperclassmen felt when they were stepping into high school as a freshman:
- “You know, it’s definitely a different experience from middle school. I feel like in middle school, all the walls and doors, I feel so contained. But then the second you go into high school, everything’s so spread. Everything’s so open.” – Marjan Malihi (2026).
- “I definitely felt scared. I really felt like I had a lot of responsibility.” – Aarya Nandakumar (2028).
- “I was pretty nervous to meet so many people and I was scared if I wouldn’t get along but was still very excited to make new friends and memories.” – Mehreen Chinwala (2028).
As Malihi states, stepping into high school feels like stepping into a new world. Middle school is a lot smaller and more compact. High school is a lot bigger with more classrooms, more space, and more opportunities. That open space might be overwhelming since it feels completely different.
Nandakumar and Chinwala talk about the feeling of nervousness, which every freshman feels when stepping into high school. In middle school, although classes started to get more complex, the workload was laid back and colleges didn’t care much about middle school. In high school, students know that their future depends on their grades and involvement from that moment, and that’s overwhelming because students don’t get a lot of advice or preparation beforehand. Therefore, they walk in knowing they have a lot of responsibility, but not knowing what to do.
That’s what this article is for. This is all advice coming from upperclassmen to support the freshmen as they embark on their journey through high school.
What they wish they knew:
- “I wish I knew that friends change, people that you consider your closest people could not care at all the next year if you don’t actively see them.” – Alexander Vega (2026).
- “Time management is everything in high school! Make sure you’re on top of all your deadlines. And try to participate in as many clubs as possible as early as possible. I really regret not making more connections with people back then.” – Naishu Vempali (2026).
- “I wish I knew that grades aren’t everything. Honestly, at the time, I was really scared of getting a bad grade. I did end that year with straight A’s. I ended like all of my years with straight A’s. But, I wish I knew at that time that grades really weren’t everything, and maybe staying up until 5 a.m. everyday was not a good idea.” – Marjan Malihi.
It’s completely normal to feel nervous and confused. People drift away and the workload increases a lot. Also, since high school is the time where people start drifting and making new connections, finding a solid friend group might be challenging. This is why making connections, especially as early as freshman year, is important, although it can be very challenging. These concerns are the primary reasons for nervousness which is completely normal and not something to be ashamed of.
On top of that, although grades are important, they’re not the most important factor of high school. There’s a lot more to high school than grades and they don’t decide your future. Average students are actually more likely to get admitted into top colleges rather than top students. Most high schoolers think that higher grades raise their chances of getting into good colleges, and, although it’s a factor, colleges look for students with curiosity and the biggest impact on the world rather than a 4.0 GPA. Therefore, although grades are important, they aren’t as important for college admissions.
Advice:
- “Don’t compare yourself to anyone else, because if you compare yourself to anyone else, usually they’re not on the same path as you, or they’re not the same as you, so it’s better if you compare yourself to yourself, ‘cause then you can strive to be a more better version of yourself than being the same as everyone else and comparing yourself to everyone else.” – Aarya Nandakumar.
- “You’re gonna survive. It’s gonna suck, but you’re gonna survive. You always have next semester, and then next year, and, if it’s really bad, college to make every mistake up.” – Naishu Vempali.
A natural tendency that students, especially freshmen, have trying to be better than everyone else and comparing their successes to everyone else. When another student is doing better than them, they tend to feel discouraged. What Nandakumar is trying to say is that everyone is different with different interests and they’ll take different paths than you. Just because one person has a higher grade than you in one subject, it doesn’t mean you’re no better than them. Everyone has different talents and someone else’s progress should not be a reason for a feeling of inferiority. You tend to focus on yourself and strive to be your best when you’re not focused on someone else.
Also, just the feeling of walking into high school is terrifying enough. You step in and suddenly you’re being hit with harder courses, heavier workload, and more independence in terms of studying and adjusting. But, as Vempali assures, you will survive. It’ll be scary at first, but as time goes on, you’ll get used to the high school system. Mistakes will be made, but they can get redeemed over time.
Biggest challenge and how to overcome it:
- “I think one is finding a solid friend group. I mean some of them have existing friendships from middle school, but a lot of times, when it comes to high school, they start breaking apart, forming with people from Crossroads North and then the Crossroads North people with the Crossroads South. It’s basically the mix of like all the students together and trying to find that peace.” – Marjan Malihi.
- “The biggest challenge freshmen go through is really knowing what to do because obviously high school is for college, right? So, obviously knowing what to do so that you can present your college application in the best way possible and planning your four years. But I definitely do feel that with thorough research and exposure to social media and any other college, I definitely do feel that if you step out more and not be afraid and you can overcome that kind of fear,” – Aarya Nandakumar.
Once high school starts, everything changes: the workload, the pressure, even friendships. People meet new friends and they drift away, so existing friendships from middle school might break apart because of that. Therefore, finding a solid friend group might be challenging. However, what students don’t realize is that everyone goes through this, so it’s completely normal to feel conflicted. It might be challenging but you will find your people.
Also, like mentioned earlier, the pressure builds up because everything you do in high school matters. Most freshmen might be stuck because they don’t know what to do so make themselves stand out to colleges. But, as Nandakumar mentioned, through research and by projecting yourself, it’s possible to overcome that fear and stand out.
The main message that each of these upperclassmen were trying to convey is that it’s normal to feel afraid. You’re meant to feel puzzled in a new environment knowing that everything matters. And although it feels difficult, it’s not impossible to overcome. It’s scary at first, but time will pass and after getting used to the high school system, the pressure will ease. You will survive. You will get through it. And in the end, you’ll be happy you didn’t give up.
