Tips for Underclassmen

As a result of the end of the school year, ANHS sophomores and freshmen are going to move up a grade. With this comes some perks and benefits for the underclassmen, ranging from parking permits to more class choices, and even the chance to go to prom. Allow this article to serve as a guide for any tips that underclassmen may need going into the next school year. 

For all those current sophomores, it will be very important to secure a parking permit for the upcoming year. Sophomore year is when most students get their driver’s license, but parking spots are prioritized for upperclassmen, meaning that many upcoming juniors will want an easy guide for obtaining the parking permit before the next school year to beat out the competition.

First, to qualify for the parking permit, students must complete a 25-minute online course in driving safety. After that, they will have to pay $50 a semester for the ability to use the pass. Sounds simple, right? Well, the complicated part comes with the regulations that come with owning a parking permit. Students are ineligible for a permit if they have more than seven tardies, if they have an F in any class, or if they were truant to five or more classes in the previous semester. This, coupled with the numerous rules regarding what you can do with your car on campus, prove to be daunting for students to understand all at once. As a result, the official Parking Application document will be included here, so that any student looking to read over the rules can do so easily and quickly.

If these rules and regulations are too much to deal with, or if you are an upcoming sophomore with a plan to obtain your license next year, then a beneficial alternative is to park on the hill outside campus. Students can park on both Deerhurst and Wolverine Way, allowing them to avoid the $50 a semester parking fee while still getting to school on time, as well as allowing them earlier availability to exit the school before the long, arduous traffic line starts forming.

However, parking on the hill is not guaranteed, and many of the spots fill up before school even starts due to zero period, so students choosing to park there should be prepared to park even further up the hill if necessary.

Another aspect of high school life that will be new to current underclassmen is the prospect of all the new classes they can take. One type of new class is AP classes, which are college-level curriculums that provide a grade boost and add prestige to transcripts. For upcoming sophomores, the only AP class you can take is AP Euro, but for upcoming juniors, there are several classes to be taken for all kinds of subjects: APUSH, AP Bio, AP Lang, and AP Spanish or French IV to name a few. These classes may sound daunting, but truthfully, they require only very manageable work and devotion, making them the perfect classes to take for students looking to graduate into a 4 year university. While the initial shock of the workload may be overwhelming, students generally ease into it rather quickly, and it helps prepare them for future, equally work-heavy classes.

Besides AP courses, there are countless classes that upcoming juniors can take, all teaching helpful skills and furthering the students’ education. Since there are so many, it is really up to the student which class they want to take, and  looking at the academics page on the ANHS website will help answer any questions about future classes. Some classes worth taking are Architecture, Forensics, and Art History, for the activities that go on within them. 

Finally, one of the most important aspects of becoming an upperclassmen is the ability to go to prom. Unfortunately, current freshmen will have to wait a year to use this information, but it will be helpful to learn for their high school experience.

Prom is, without a doubt, the most important dance of the year. Students love to go, seeing as it is often their last school event of the year, and for seniors, the last high school event ever. Whether the dance is close by or far away, and no matter the theme, one thing is always certain: it will be memorable. Because of this, I recommend any upcoming juniors to go to Prom, solely because they will remember it for the rest of their lives. It is also very important to save up some money for the dance, because the cost of tickets, outfits, and corsages can be high.