1. How can DHS students make the most out of their high school career?
“Be interested in what you’re doing. Even if you are in a class you don’t like or understand very well, find small things that interest you. Even if you don’t love history, you might find the Red Scare interesting. Even if you don’t like calculus, you might love drawing the figures to calculate volume!”– Emma Shoenthal, U.C. San Diego

2. What advice do you have for people trying to figure out what extracurriculars they want or don’t want to do?

“Well definitely just test the fields. Freshman and sophomore year are just years to test whether you like the arts better, or the sciences better. Once you find what you like, just focus in on it.” –Jeff Jenkins, University of Colorado Boulder

3. What advice do you have for people trying to figure out what classes to take?
“Don’t pick your classes based on what you think colleges want. Colleges just want to see that you’ve pursued your interests, and it’s also much easier to excel in classes you truly care about.”– Jennifer Lee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“Don’t listen to your parents if they say a class is too hard for you. You’re capable of doing anything you set your mind to, even if it’s AP Calc BC or AP Physics. Just make sure you own up to your decision!”–May Liu, U.C. Berkeley

“Go into the thing that interests you most. If you like math, go into challenging math courses. If you want to be a biologist, take AP Bio.”–Jon Ng, Rhode Island School of Design

4. How can future students prepare for college applications?
“Make clubs, join activities. Do whatever possible in whatever you’re interested in.”–Ajay Singh, U.C. San Diego

5. Advice on how to manage time?
“For me, I do this thing called productive procrastination, because I almost always overload myself, and I have a running, infinite to-do list. So if I don’t want to do homework at the moment, there’s always something else I can do that’s still productive.”–Joshua Price, U.C. Berkeley

“Personally, naps are what got me through high school. Taking an hour or two (or three) to nap is definitely worth it if you have a lot of homework or an important test the next day. Studying when you’re dead tired is nowhere near as effective as studying after a refreshing nap!”–Jennifer Lee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

6. Any other advice?
“Don’t think of pressure in a negative way. Instead of imagining pressure as a crushing weight, think of it as a force pushing you forward in life. “–May Liu, U.C. Berkeley