Moving up to a new grade is a universal experience year to year. However, the transition from middle school to high school is once in a lifetime. 9th grader Ashley Santiago Benitez, who joined UPrep as a 6th grader, stepped into the school year with anticipation. 

“I was excited to have my own experience instead of hearing everyone else’s,” Santiago Benitez said. 

Adjusting to the flow of upper school was a challenge for her.

“The amount of homework, it’s not that it’s hard; it’s just a lot, and you get one in every class now,” Santiago Benitez said. “In middle school, you got breaks, or it was easier to get an extension, but now you get a project almost every week.”

Homework distribution levels served as a culture shock for Santiago Benitez. 

“Personally, I already felt a change from seventh grade to eighth grade because you do get more homework in eighth grade,” Santiago Benitez said. “[But,] I think they could go on that more lightly, because if you felt a change from seventh to eighth, then you’ll feel more for 8th to 9th.”

Social interactions with classmates lessened due to increased upper school class rigor. 

“We all knew each other [in middle school],” Santiago Benitez said. “In classes we would always talk or get along, and now that it’s more serious, we don’t talk at all, we just want to pay attention.”

Santiago Benitez offers advice for future incoming 9th graders.

“Definitely go to office hours, it’s not embarrassing,” Santiago Benitez said. “Pay attention, take a lot of notes, it’s really helpful.”