Senior Study Habits and Advice

With college application season coming to an end and the inevitable breakdown of reality and senioritis as college decisions come out, it seems like the perfect opportunity to share some tips and reflect on the past four years.

My name is Sid Ganesh, and I am a senior in the Engineering Academy, and over the past four years I’ve developed many habits and observed many things that helped me get through high school, as well as see what not to do. Here are some of my top picks, and you should definitely follow them religiously:

1. Learn to be sarcastic.

What better way to acclimatize yourself to the high school environment? Sarcasm will totally be your segue into being successful.

2. Sit in one corner of the cafeteria and blast music in the mornings.

This is the quickest and most efficient road to popularity.

3. Stand in the middle of the hallway and talk to your friends.

The more friends you can gather to do this, the better. Build the wall!

4. pUt yOuR pHonEs iN thE cAddiEs

This is pretty self-explanatory. Just do it. :)

5. Naruto run through the hallways in between classes.

Not only are you building a peak physique by doing this, but you also get all the girls (or guys).

6. Put everything off till the last minute

I can’t stress this enough. Procrastination is a virtue. Procrastinate, procrastinate, procrastinate. Binge-watch that TV show; go bowling with friends. Whatever you do, always only start the assignment an hour before the due date. Burn it into your mind that if today isn’t the due date, then today isn’t the do date.

Final Thoughts

As you can (hopefully) tell, do not take these tips seriously.

Looking back, I did a lot of things these past years that I would go back and change if given the chance, but what I do know is that you need to surround yourself with the right people. Whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior, or even a senior, it's important to have a diverse group of friends, but not so diverse that you don't have any common ground.

Additionally, don’t just join a handful of clubs to say that you were a part of them. Pick a few that you’re truly passionate about, and develop them. This isn’t to dissuade you from trying new things, but in the end, do something and befriend others because you want to, not because you feel like you have to.

And seriously, care about your grades, but also go bowling with your friends, roast marshmallows over bonfires—all that crazy stuff. There’s roughly 208 weeks in high school, and coming from someone with only 15 remaining Monday mornings of my mom dragging me out of bed, 15 remaining Friday nights with my friends that I’ll never forget and 15 remaining weeks until the kid I’ve seen grow up in the mirror graduates, don’t waste it.

As for study habits, it’s really up to you. Studying can be subjective, and it may take you a while to find the best method for you. When you do find what works, stick with it.

I leave you with three words:

Adapt, survive, thrive.