How to Be Popular in Private School

Being popular on your terms

Be yourself in every way that you feel is needed. There is no reason to act like the most popular guy or girl. Or all you will get is made fun of. But it is a good thing to hang out with the most popular kids in your class the first couple days of school so you can get a head start at being popular. Try your hardest and sooner or later, you will get there.

Identify why you want to become popular. Do you just want more friends? Are you jealous of what the popular kids do? Do you want to be invited to more parties? Do you want to date within the popular group? These are some fine reasons for desiring popularity.

Know what you're getting yourself into. Popular kids generally hang out in cliques; make sure you'll be able to fit into one you like.

Know the time commitment expected. If you like spending weekends at home playing video games, maybe re-evaluate; most of the day time on the weekends will be spent with your clique and the nights at parties with all the other cliques.

Make a strategy and know your role. A good way to set yourself apart in a group of wealthy, well-connected people is to offer them something that they either don't already have or is hard for them to obtain Some examples would be: knowing someone at a good restaurant in town that is hard to get reservations at, having an in with a well recognized personal trainer, getting them into an event or product launch that features a popular celebrity.

Prepare yourself mentally. Once you are known by a lot of people, people start to talk about you, more often than not the words are not kind and flattering. It doesn't matter what people say about you as long as they're saying something!

Dressing for uniqueness

Improve the look of your uniform. If your school has uniforms, you can still be unique. Girls, this is easy. Try purses, jewelry, different hair styles, etc. Guys, this might be a bit more difficult, but it is possible. If your dress code allows it, untuck your shirt and undo one or two buttons to avoid looking stiff.

Stand out where possible. If you're one of the lucky ones who don't have that much of a dress code, stand out as much as you can. Brand names are worn way too much at private schools. You can still wear them, but try to look for more unique clothes at places like small boutiques in the downtown area, department stores, and if you're daring, secondhand stores. No one can tell the difference, unless they shop there too (in which case, they'll keep your secret).

Maintaining your intelligence quotient

Get good grades. It's a smart way to become more popular. Be very careful about turning in homework on time and in good shape. Remember to do it completely. Study for tests. Be prepared for a pop quiz at all times. If you need help, definitely ask a teacher for schoolwork advice or get a tutor.

Sign up for as many extracurriculars as you can! Popular people have lots of friends, and the best way to get them is to join a club or class. Some of the more popular extracurriculars are sports, chorus, dance, band, cheerleading (not every private school has cheerleading, though), etc.

Express yourself through your pencils and notebooks. Find a design for your notebooks that you feel reflects your personality.

Reveal your artsy side. Keep a notebook full of drawings or writings to show people. Be original and don't copy others.

Interacting with everyone

Be nice and make friends with a lot of people. Invite them over a lot. Go shopping together. Don't gossip meanly. Be sweet to everyone. Having popular friends can be really helpful, but still, have a personality.

Prepare yourself to hang out with your old friends much less. Making new friends and solidifying those bonds takes time; you'll be spending a lot more time with your new friends so you won't have much left over for your old ones.

Put your face on the map. One of the best ways for people to get to know who you are is to throw a big party and invite everyone. (Be careful though as it could easily backfire if things get out of control and the police show up.) Make sure that if you throw a party that you are well dressed, that your house is clean and well decorated, and that you let loose a little bit talk to people and get to know them, make bonds over similar interests and plant seeds for future hangout (add each other on social media or swap phone numbers).

Accept invitations. Once you become friends with the popular kids, you'll begin to be invited to things. Accept everything that you can. Hang out with them after school and grab some food; hang out with them on the weekends before they go out to party. If you are offered libations of any sort from your clique, or even any of the other cliques, cordially accept but watch your intake, you don't want to make a fool of yourself. Most cliques after a while will develop pre-party rituals, whether that's going to a certain place for food before hand, or meeting up and getting ready at certain person's house. Most cliques will have a driving rotation, make sure that if it's your turn to drive you always do it and do it reliably (unless your clique is lucky enough to have a member with a driver). Often you will stay at a certain person's house after nights of partying and this will always be pre-planned.

Start inviting them to things. This is where what you have to offer comes into play, if you have access to something cool and unique especially something they haven't experienced before, use it now. You can also start to host kickbacks at your house just inviting one or two cliques over to have a good time.

Continue with your day-to-day life. You'll most likely be hanging out with your clique more than your own family at this point, some of the members of your clique might even become part of your actual family (ie. staying at your house on weeknights, eating dinner with your family, going on vacations with you). Start dating but avoid dating within your clique, you don't want to create unnecessary tension. Be sure to keep your grades up and maintain your appearance. You can still talk to your former friends but in reality there's a reason why you wanted to leave that group and you'll now have a new perspective about them.