On August 18, 2023, Jesuit started its 2023-2024 school year, and with that, we officially opened our doors for the Class of 2027 for the first time. On behalf of The Roundup, welcome to the Jesuit community. In your next four years, the Class of 2027 will experience a brotherhood found at Jesuit Dallas like no other. There will be ups and downs, and many important lessons learned. In order to find the most success in all areas of your Jesuit career, however, there are many tips and tricks that once learned and utilized will help an incoming freshman tremendously. Read this guide with tips and tricks in no particular order on current students’ advice on how to succeed at Jesuit in order to thrive at Jesuit this school year.
1. Meet with Teachers
Probably one of the pieces of advice that you have heard the most, probably because one cannot stress enough the importance of meeting with your teachers. Jesuit Dallas prides itself on being a college prep school. One of the ways they model that is through meeting with teachers. In middle school for most, it might have been easy to pass simply by doing all the work than taking the tests. In high school however, especially a college prep high school, the concepts can be more challenging and it is up to you to try to comprehend them, the teachers cannot stop class for one person like they used to. Because of this, students who find success are the ones who come a little earlier in the morning, stay a little later in the afternoon, or utilize their free periods or PRT to visit with teachers in order to better comprehend concepts.
Simply learning a concept is not the only reason to meet with teachers, however. For example, you may miss a test due to sports or sickness and have to make it up. Maybe you want to retake a test. Maybe there is an extracurricular question you have for them. There are a million reasons to meet with your teachers. While no one is alone at Jesuit, the teachers can no longer hold your hand and walk you through every step, and it is up to you to be accountable for your academics.
Academics should not be the one time you go to meet with your teachers. All teachers on campus want to form a more genuine relationship with each of their students than just the classroom. It is okay to go see your teachers just because. Many teachers love to have students in their office or in the commons and just have conversations with them as peers rather than as student and teacher. It is essential to also build those relationships so when it is time to write letters to college later on you have good options to pick who actually have something to write about you other than you are a “good student.” These relationships only form if you go to them though, so make sure to meet with your teachers often, and if you do not have a reason to go, then make something up, or just go to say hi. Teachers who have good relationships with the students who go meet with them often and know them on a deeper level can better empathize when something like an extension or a retake is needed.
My advice is the go to every one of your teacher’s offices in the next week and say hi just so you know where it is, then continue to frequent the office.
2. Try New Things/ Get Involved
In order to become a well-rounded person that fits the Jesuit Profile of the Graduate, one must find stuff to be involved in outside the classroom. There are so many different clubs, co-curriculars, and teams to be involved with. 100% of all Jesuit students are involved in an extracurricular in some way. In the first couple of weeks, there will be club fairs with many different clubs showcasing their clubs. Sign up for all that even somewhat interest you, then go to a meeting. If you do not like the club after the first meeting, so what? Move on. It may not be for everyone. But if you enjoy it or think it could be something entertaining continue showing up. This will help you build more relationships with others, some may be friends in your grade who may not have spoken to otherwise, but also upperclassmen who now have a shared interest with you as well as a new friendship with an underclassman who they can relate to and advise.
Try to find new things that maybe you have little experience with before because high school is all about exploring yourself and Jesuit offers a safe place to fail, meaning you can always continue your search for yourself. This is not limited to clubs, but also teams. Many sports at Jesuit are non-cut meaning anyone can participate, so talk to coaches, talk to those on the team, and see if it may be something you are interested in, even if you have no experience.
I have heard in the past to try to find an extracurricular that is academically related, such as the history club, something that you have an interest in a future career, such as the Engineering Society or Robotics, a skill, such as the BBQ Club, and an interest like the ESPN or Lego Clubs. If you can not make every club meeting, do not worry, it is very easy to work with the student leadership and moderators to find a schedule balance for you.
Attend as many Jesuit events as possible. Football games, dances, mixers- everything.
3. Follow the Jesuit Community on Social Media
A great way to find out how to get connected is by following different organizations on social media. Below are the main ones that I have found helpful for the general community, but many teams and clubs have their own social media that usually are something along the lines of “jesuit/jcp/jesuitdallas [insert clubs/team here]”
4. Get To Know Your CounselorsÂ
Your counselors will prove to be so much help throughout the year, whether it be moving up or down classes, struggling with academics, focusing on next year, or simply a question about an activity. Find the freshman commons and your respective counselor’s office and do your initial meeting with them, then, visit their office whenever you have a question, big or small.
The counselors are like the teachers, they love to have relationships with students, and their doors are almost always open to just come talk in their couches or comfy chairs. You will find that they are relatable to you too.
5. Respect the Traditions
This community is filled with history and there are many traditions like the yell, Ranger Day, and the Junior Cross Mass that you will get to experience throughout your time at Jesuit. Some you may be experiencing right now, like wearing khaki pants instead of colored pants. Freshman used to have to wear magnetic nametags, and even beanies way back when. With that being said, it is important to be fully immersed in such traditions and to follow them. Whenever an upperclassman or a teacher offers you advice on a tradition, like how the student section may be organized, take his advice because he is trying to keep the traditions alive by teaching it to the new classes of Jesuit, just like he learned it from the upperclassmen when he was a freshman.
6. Do Not Rely on Retakes
While the gift of retakes on various tests and/or quizzes is a gift that should certainly be used when necessary, do not rely on them. They are meant to be a second opportunity for legitimate circumstances in which you did not do well on the initial assignment or assessment, not just extending your time to “try.” Many have the mindset of “there is always retakes, I will just study then,” but trust me if you do not study the first time, you will not study the second time. Retakes also require extra effort to meet with your teacher, discuss what went wrong, show him your notes and completed homework, and talk about your plans to do better this time, all of which is not needed if you just do well the first time. Do well the first time, get your A or B, then decide from there if you want to retake.
English retakes are a little different because all essays are timed writes completed in class; very, very rarely will a full essay ever be done outside of the classroom and that is for special classes. Once you get your timed write graded, go pick it up in your teacher’s office then type it up immediately and sign up for as many revision conferences as allowed in order to score as high as possible. Make changes before and after every conference, record the conference on the voice memos app on your phone, and take full advantage of the time. Remember that usually, all essays besides the final are revisable up to a 100 no matter the initial grade, whether it be a 95 or 35.
7. Utilize the LRC and Math Lab
Similar to the importance of meeting with your teachers outside of the classroom, seek extra help in the math lab where there is literally ALWAYS a teacher no matter the period, before, or after school. Go there for any math questions you may have. Visit the Learning Resource Center as well to have help with whatever academic concerns it may have. Whether it be a quiet place to study, you need help building your habits, or you have concerns about how to prepare for a class, there are people there to help you. Seek this help.
8. Keep Academics a Priority
Jesuit College Prep is first and foremost a school with the intention of teaching students. While the college search may seem far away, everything you do every day is to prepare for it. One thing that can severely limit your options is your grades. While all grades at Jesuit, no matter what classes are taken, provide a healthy amount of academic rigor meant to challenge the student, the freshman year for most is by far the easiest in comparison to other grades, as far as challenge and workload are concerned. Develop good habits now to boost your GPA as high as possible freshman year, to provide some buffer to fall back on in case of struggle later on. It is much harder to raise a GPA than to lower it. Do not be stupid and not care about getting a low GPA freshman year with plans to raise it in the future. That is only adding an extra amount of effort on your part.
One thing that helps is to find good study groups for each class. Without cheating, of course, study groups can work together to help all involved and can help relieve some stress of doing it alone.
9. Focus on Mental Health
It is important to focus on school and being involved, it is more important to recognize your stress levels and the effort you are able to output into everything you do. Take enough breaks when studying, get fresh air every day, and step back when it is too much. Jesuit is meant to provide a healthy amount of stress- to give you something to care about and put effort towards in involvement without being too overwhelming. It is important to find a good balance of this stress and make sure it is not too much.
If you need help with stress or mental health reach out to a Hope Squad member. These are members of the Jesuit community trained to help recognize suicidal or mental health issues within our community and get them the help they need. There is no shame in going to them. They can be recognized in the hallways by the red Hope Squad lanyards they wear.
10. Be Present
Come to school every day with intentionality and be present in every moment. No matter how big or small it may seem, the years go by fast. Be genuine with every conversation you have and enjoy every moment you have at Jesuit.
Those are the top ten tips and tricks, in no order, that I would advise to new freshmen. If you have any questions reach out to a counselor, teacher, upperclassmen, admin, or anyone, and they will do their best to answer because we are a brotherhood at Jesuit. Remember you are not in this alone and that you can succeed here if you are willing to put in the work. Congratulations on starting your Jesuit career!
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