We had the opportunity of interviewing Meera Parikh, a junior at Georgetown University, about: High School Courses
In high school, Meera was involved in track, tutoring, and coaching Girls on the Run. In college, she does intramural soccer, South Asian dance, and GlobeMed (a global health club). Meera is passionate about pandemic preparedness and global health security and hopes to be involved in advocacy and public policy after she graduates.
Here are some main points she shares:
My main focus was taking the most challenging courses that my high school had to offer in each subject. Fortunately, I was able to manage the level of classes that I chose, but if I did struggle a lot to maintain my GPA, I would have rethought my schedule and probably chosen different classes.
I always found that practice questions were the most effective way for me to study. For my math and science questions I would go over my homework again and do whatever questions that my teacher gave me.
Q: In high school, did you focus on courses that were related to your current major, or did you explore a larger variety?
A: My major is specific and my high school did not offer any classes that were related to public health. I took a lot of science classes in high school, and I thought that the sciences that were related to the human body were most interesting, which definitely influenced my choice of major. But overall, I took classes in a variety of subjects and I enjoy both the humanities and science, which is why I wanted to choose an interdisciplinary major.
Q: Was GPA a major factor you considered when choosing courses? If so, in what way?
A: Not really, my main focus was taking the most challenging courses that my high school had to offer in each subject. Fortunately, I was able to manage the level of classes that I chose, but if I did struggle a lot to maintain my GPA, I would have rethought my schedule and probably chosen different classes.
Q: Which of your courses do you think took up the most time and effort?
A: My science classes probably took up the most time because there were always problem sets, tests, and labs due every week. I had to stay on top of what we were learning in class or I would fall behind since we moved very quickly.
Q: How did you prepare for exams and tests (i.e. what was your study strategy)?
A: I always found that practice questions were the most effective way for me to study. For my math and science questions I would go over my homework again and do whatever questions that my teacher gave me. For other classes, I would make flashcards on Quizlet and study those. I usually studied with one or two friends which helped motivate me. We would usually do problems on our own and if we got stuck, we would work through them together. I think having a small group of people to study with was the most important factor in my success in high school.
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