Now that we’ve settled into the second semester of the school year, SHC’s lowerclassmen have assimilated and grown abundantly more curious about the years to come! To aid in calming some of this curiosity, here is part two of “Lowerclassmen Ask, Upperclassmen Answer.”
Have a question you need answered? Nervous about the upcoming AP tests in May? Making sure not to miss out on anything? No problem! Just ask us! The Emerald enlisted upperclassmen to give advice along with their honest and helpful answers for all your burning questions.
*quotes edited for clarity*
What classes would you recommend to take as a sophomore? Esme Palomino ‘28
“If you’re eligible, I would definitely recommend taking English 3, 4 Honors! It’s a great class and isn’t as hard as it might sound. My class was a chill environment where we still got to learn a lot.” Olivia Lombardini ‘26
“Take whichever art class you think is most interesting to you personally – don’t feel like you *have* to do HOCA [History of Christian Art]. For English, I recommend 3, 4 Honors. It’s not that much harder than regular, and you get to explore more books/genres, which will help you pick out your English elective classes your junior and senior year. If you have extra room, see about taking AP Computer Science Principles or AP Human Geography. These classes don’t require too much pre-requisite knowledge, but they are a good introduction to the AP program.” Nico Will ‘25
How do you prepare for an AP test? Juliette de Clapiers de Collongues ‘27
“I prepare for AP tests by reading study guides online, looking over any notes/study materials I used throughout the year, and talking to my teachers so they can explain concepts I’m having a hard time with. I recommend using the Knowt website, which has super comprehensive study guides and practice questions for every AP exam.” Sam Wai ‘25
“Go chapter by chapter and make a ’cheat sheet’ for each one. Then use old tests, AP classroom, a test prep book, or online sources to generate practice problems. Keep going through the problems until you can do them without the cheat sheet.” Audrey Law ‘26
What classes for either junior or senior year do you really recommend and think are just great overall classes that everyone should take? Piper Ling-Winick ‘27
“I recommend taking LVL [Lasallian Vincentian Leadership] your senior year. Not only do you get to bond with many of your classmates that you may not have had the chance to bond with before, [but] you get to organize different drives, as well as help lead freshmen and sophomore retreats. It’s a really fun class, especially when you’re surrounded by peers who have the same passion and interests as you.” Leila-Ximone Vásquez ’25
“Take AP Psych[ology]; it’s challenging but probably the most interesting and rewarding class I’ve ever taken.” Solomon Whitlam-Sandler ‘25
What is your advice regarding class difficulty in junior year? Simone Cohen ‘27
“Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself, but also don’t take on what you know you can’t do in terms of co-curriculars, sports, work, etc.” Leila-Ximone Vásquez ‘25
“It’s not as bad as everyone says it is. Just try not to put so much pressure on yourself, go to office hours, and do your best.” Lucia Miyaki ‘26
How do you balance your school and social life on top of co-curricular activities? Christina Chew ‘27
“I try to prioritize my time at home to be dedicated to completing school work. If I have a later practice or a game I try to get as much work done as I can in that time. I also try to dedicate time on the weekends to start or complete upcoming work due in the next couple of classes just to relieve stress off my future self. When I’m playing a sport, I try to let practices and pre-game rituals account for contributing to my social life, but any opportunity I get to relax on the weekend in absence of a Saturday tournament, I love spending that time with friends and hanging out.“ Leila-Ximone Vásquez ‘25
“Please do your homework the day it’s assigned! No matter what you have going on, doing your homework the day you get it is helpful in ensuring you’re not stressed out for your next class period.” Daniel Kutner ‘26
What do you recommend taking as a junior: AP Literature or AP Language and Composition? Siena Larkin ‘27 and Rowan Joyce ‘2
“AP Lang [is useful] because it pairs well with the US History curriculum. It also teaches you essay writing that is useful for future classes and in the workfield.” Zaccharie Angeles ‘26
“Probably AP Lang. Of the two, Lang is generally considered to be less hard, and it’s applicable to more majors since it’s about non-fiction academic writing. That being said, if you’re really interested in Lit, go for it – nobody’s stopping you!” Nico Will ‘25
Is taking summer biology worth it? Piper Ling-Winick ‘27
“Yes 100%. It gives you only one thing to focus on and I made some good friends in it.” Teddy Lofberg ‘25
“Yes! If you’re interested in biology and don’t have any other summer plans, I would definitely take summer bio. As long as you’re okay with moving fast and having to take notes every night, summer bio is a great class that sets you up really well for junior year.” Olivia Lombardini ‘26
How big is the gap of difficulty between APUSH and regular US history? Piper Ling-Winick ‘27
“I’d say the difficulty gap between the two classes isn’t huge. APUSH [AP United States History] is harder in terms of note-taking and essay writing.” Zaccarie Angeles ’26
“It depends on your teacher, but keep in mind that AP classes are college-level, and will be taught as such. Do not only take APUSH for the grade boost; you should be interested in history or else the year will be catastrophic.” Echo McDonald ‘26
How much do college applications impact your workload and productivity? Piper Ling-Winick ‘27
“They’re honestly super time-consuming, especially because of all the information overload and numerous tasks to complete throughout the process. One thing I wish I did better to help me manage my workload was to do tasks in a more evenly dispersed way so that I wasn’t overwhelmed with everything I had to do in the span of a month or less.” Sam Wai ‘25
“October and November are the most impacted months since that’s when you need to be applying for early action and UCs [University of California schools]. Make sure to keep a copy of all your essays, because once you have the first few essays written, it gets progressively easier to recycle content from them.” Nico Will ‘25
Do you recommend taking four years of language or is it not really worth it? Piper Ling-Winick ‘27
“If you want to be really proficient and take more advanced language in college, take all four years. If you have other classes you want to take and/or you don’t care about possibly taking more language in college, it’s not as much of a priority.” Teddy Lofberg ‘25
“Depends, if you have a passion for the language and culture of your language you should totally take four years worth. Plus, later on in life being able to communicate in another language, especially in the workforce, is very beneficial. If you have another class you really want to take that fits more into what you want to pursue after high school and major in for college instead, then you should definitely free up that space and replace your language class with that.” Leila-Ximone Vásquez ‘25
How much emphasis should I place on academics in my junior year compared to my senior year? Ashley Wang ‘27
“I think junior year should probably be your most academically challenging year compared to senior year. In junior year, this is kind of like the calm before the storm when college applications aren’t consuming your life. Take advantage of it by working hard in your courses and showing that you have a drive for academic success. Then, in senior year, you should give yourself some wiggle room to breathe while you’re tackling academics, co-curriculars, and college applications all at once.” Sam Wai ‘25
“I don’t believe that you should place any less emphasis on academics in your junior year to your senior year, as grades (at least the first semester of senior year) still matter for the most part (unless you only plan to apply to UC’s [University of California schools] or CSU’s [California State Universities]). However, I would say that part of the reason why junior year is so hard academically is because it is often the first time students have four or five really tough classes that all demand a lot of time and energy, whereas they might have had to only focus on one or two before. That sudden increase in expectations is really stressful, but throughout the year, you really learn how to manage it and how to find your own balance as a student. When you become a senior, you’ve gone through it once already, so you know how to operate, which is why senior year seems to be the ’easier’ year academically for people.” Leah Zheng ‘25
How much do your advanced classes impact your college application process? Any tips or warnings for senior year? Ashley Wang ‘27
“Taking advanced classes looks good on your application and makes your application more competitive compared to others. Regardless, don’t take what you can’t handle. It’s better to show improvement and growth within your grades over the years rather than stressing yourself out with too many APs [and] struggling to keep your grades up throughout the school year. You don’t have to take six APs all at once to get into college!” Leila-Ximone Vásquez ‘25
“Utilize any time you have over the summer and at least start on research for schools and drafts for essays and it shouldn’t eat too much into your school year.” Teddy Lofberg ‘25
When do you recommend thinking about colleges/starting college applications? Marquiel Castillo ‘27
“I really dislike writing about myself and my experiences, but it’s a crucial (arguably the most important part) of filling out a college application. Sometimes, things are really embarrassing to dig up and write about, but those moments are often filled with the growth and determination that so many colleges like to ask about. So, I guess my advice is to reflect on your life long before you even start writing so you have ideas to brainstorm, and to be honest with yourself.” Leah Zheng ‘25
“Starting college applications: the summer between junior and senior year is probably the best time for this.” Nico Will ‘25
Hopefully this advice will help you feel ready and excited to finish out the second half of the school year with confidence and newfound wisdom. Thank you to all our upperclassmen for taking the time to pass on their scholarly knowledge and wisdom!
* The Emerald will continue with this series in the future, so if you are a lowerclassmen, make sure to fill out this form with any upperclassmen questions you have *
