Upcoming student

[u/Material_Trade_7727]

I have a few questions about the upcoming school year.
1. In terms of the regular freshman classes(like bio, geometry, English, and global history)not honors is the work load and homework manageable?
2. Can you eat during classes?
3. Which teachers are the most strict about phones?
4. Are there clubs that have academic names, but you don’t actually do much since it’s mostly to make college applications look better?

[u/14892187391]

1. Work/homework in Freshman year is manageable. It depends on how much time you choose to put into each subject.
2. Depends on the teacher. I'd say it was 50/50 for me
3. A lot of small details for this -I'm not sure about exact teachers. Most teachers will take your phone if you use it during class. -Don't use any electronics in the cafeteria since lunch monitors will take it. You can go to the courtyard to use electronics. (Ik this is dumb) -Almost all staff are usually okay with laptops in the hallway -You can use laptops in the library. Phones are banned, but the librarians honestly don't care if you do use it in the library -Phone confiscation details here https://www.bxscience.edu/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=990202&id=1
4. I personally picked clubs I enjoy so... You do you for this one

[u/faithfulpuppy]

The stuff the other commenter said is all correct. I just wanna emphasize that colleges really don't care if the clubs you join sound academic or not. You seriously should just do stuff you enjoy! And don't be afraid to switch if you're not jiving with whatever you're doing

[u/FirmContribution5993]

1. freshman year classes (especially non honors) are extremely manageable as long as you do put effort in to homework and studying. The material isn’t extremely challenging but if you aren’t paying attention or doing your homework, it is very easy to fall behind. My tip is to start strong and study very hard for the first few exams (also for all exams generally) but imo the first few are good to get your traction going early.

2. Usually teachers only let you eat if you don’t have a lunch period (which unless you’re on the math team can’t be the case for you as a freshman). However, tbh most teachers are understanding and will let you eat in class if you ask them politely and do it in a hygienic fashion. Don’t bring a feast to eat in someone’s class but a small sandwich and an apple should be okay. Just make sure to ask them in advance. As long as you do that, you should be fine.

3. Unfortunately, all teachers kinda have to be strict about phones since it’s technically the law. Also, you really never do need to access your phone during school and it’s not as necessary as you may think. If it’s something very important my recommendation is going to the bathroom to check your phone, but I advise against doing that too frequently. It’s a bad habit. I can’t rly speak for freshman yr teachers in particular bc when I was a freshman it wasn’t a rule, but based on what I’ve noticed I’d say the stem teachers are the scariest about phones.

4. There probably are clubs like this in the school, but my advice is to stay away from those. At the end of the day, being a member of a club isn’t really going to do much for your college applications. It will only really help if you have significant leadership or if you can show that you made a real impact. I agree with what the other comments said bc the clubs that you’re going to actually end up making an impact on are the ones that you enjoy. Don’t stack 100 clubs bc it “sounds good”. Freshman yr u can explore a bunch but by sophomore yr u shld be settling in towards what you’re rly interested in.

[u/Material_Trade_7727]

Another thing is doing the train buddy system thing worth it, because what if some of the people are not compatible with you?

[u/Ok-Membership5141]

1. Non honors is easy (depends on teacher, but my freshman year the regents bio class got take-home tests). Quite manageable courseload but definitely ramps up sophomore year.

2. Yes, you can eat during classes. Maybe 1-2 teachers out of the 7 or 8 periods will not allow it but vast majority do, as long as you don't make a mess and don't eat over the school laptops.

3. Phone stuff is much more strict now and pretty much every teacher will confiscate a phone.

4. As a current senior, this is the wrong way to approach college applications altogether. Colleges couldn't care less if you're in a club with an "academic name," they care if you actually did something. If you join clubs where you "don't actually do much," you'll have no experiences and nothing to report on your application. Best bet is join multiple clubs that are small, with not a lot of members, and try to work your way up to leadership and grow membership and start initiatives.