I think the most important advice they could get at this stage is to take control of their environment, and if something isn't the way they like it they should fight until it is.

It's easy to think that school is like a railroad, that the course is set and cannot be changed, but really it is just that there's only a few paved roads, and people will complain that they are stuck in traffic. If you have the inclination, you can go off-roading and have a blast. It just takes a little effort to get started.