Advice for Incoming G11 (Long post…)
I’m overwhelmed.
(scroll down for my questions)
Hello! For context, I am an incoming SYP student from IRC. For my core and elective, I chose physics and chem respectively. I have had decent grades for FAYP although I did struggle a lot with consistency and overall just having the discipline and drive to keep up with my grades.
I was mostly a “floater” from G7 to G9 because while I was doing well academically, my extracurriculars were not the best. I didn’t join much competitions and I had no passion for any ALA. It was only until G10 that I decided to lock in. Before last sy, I didn’t really do anything except study for high grades. I had 0 self esteem and 0 passion for anything. It was only until G10 that I decided to step out of my comfort zone by joining my first Olympiad, first MUN conference, and first international trip for an SIP. I will admit that not being a part of the class officers for once definitely helped. For context, I was class president in G9 and it definitely took years out of my life I swear. I was juggling both academics and the pressures and expectations of handling a section.
With that said, I wanted to ask for advice as an upcoming G11 student because I don’t really know what to expect. I’m not close with any seniors (I’m really introverted and shy) so I haven’t had the courage to ask anyone. I’ve seen different opinions online as well as from what I’ve heard from my batch mates, so I’m not really sure what to do. I’m really regretting taking up double core because of the high possibility of burnout. I also really want to maximize this school year by joining more extracurriculars although I’m not sure how to handle them with academics. One of the extracurriculars I’ve been contemplating is joining our student council as batch representative. I’ve been encouraged before to join but I’ve never really had the confidence and courage to do so. I know that being part of the student council will definitely interfere with my academics considering it’s very demanding and time consuming. However, I genuinely do want to join because of the skills and experience as well as being able to serve the student body.
CETs are also just around the corner, and I’m already dreading college applications. I really want to get scholarships from the Big 4, but I’m mostly leaning into UPD. I’m still undecided on what course to take, let alone what career I plan on taking in the future.
Here are my questions:
- What can I expect for my first year in SYP?
- For those who were in physics core and/or chem elective, what are advices that you can share to pass or even get high grades?
- Should I prioritize ECs or academics? Or better yet, how can I balance the two?
- Should I join the student council? If so, what are any advices for the campaign period and hopefully, if elected, in the student council itself?
- How is research and what can I do to improve in researching + technical writing, as well as what to expect in the research process itself
Lastly, my goal gwa for this school year is around 1.3 to bring my grades up from FAYP and hopefully graduate with honors or even with high honors. Please do share any advice that may help in achieving this goal. I apologize if this was really long, it’s 3 am right now and I impulsively just decided to post this after stumbling upon so much TikToks about SHS and CETs… huhu…