It’s the most hyped year of high school.
It’s the one that students have been dreaming about – or dreading – for years.
“It’s almost time to get out of here,” Debbie Baldwin, counselor, said.
It’s senior year.
But the final year of high school isn’t all fun and games.
The seemingly endless to-do list for senior year often includes enrolling in dual credit college courses, choosing a college, applying for colleges, applying for scholarships and preparing extensively for post-high school life.
Baldwin said that these things, overall, make senior year the most stressful.
“However, there can be good stress and bad stress,” she added. “The whole goal is to find the balance between the two.”
Senior Nathan Laudan said that he has definitely felt that senior year stress.
“The seniors last year seemed to really enjoy their senior year,” he said. “But so far, I’ve absolutely hated it.”
He said the most difficult part is the heavier work load.
“Each teacher expects so much of you,” Laudan said. “It’s almost as if they don’t know you have other classes, too.”
Audrey Reynolds, senior, agreed that senior year is by far the most stressful. However, she thought the most stressful part is making big decisions that could affect her future.
“Trying to decide where to go to college and making decisions that will help me get there causes the most stress for me,” she said.
Baldwin said there are many additional causes for stress late in one’s high school career.
“You should want to make it through senior year to the best of your abilities and not slack off,” she said.
In order to not slack off, Baldwin said, seniors should enroll in college classes.
“Probably over half of our students will take a dual credit course during their senior year,” she added.
Laudan said that he is enrolled in several of these courses.
“Physics is tough. I don’t understand it at all,” he said. “And College Prep English isn’t really hard, there’s just a ton of homework.”
Baldwin said that another huge cause of stress is applying for colleges and scholarships, in addition to the stress of waiting to get accepted to schools.
There is also the dreaded senioritis thrown into the mess of the final high school year.
Senioritis is used to describe the decreased motivation toward studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their high school, college and graduate school careers.
Reynolds described senioritis as “really wanting to leave high school but not being sure if you’re ready.”
Baldwin said that she has noticed senioritis kicking in early this year.
“We’re seeing it earlier and earlier, and it’ll get worse as the year goes on. Lots of kids already want to drop core classes and are ready to get out of here,” she said. “But most do a pretty good job of coping with senioritis.”
There are some things to do to make senior year less stressful.
“Start early, preferably in your junior year,” Baldwin said.
The College Board Web site also advised getting a jump start on the college preparation process.
“Seniors that applied to colleges early generally appear to be more jovial,” Baldwin added.
Laudan also had some advice to offer.
“You may think [senior year] will be a piece of cake, but you really don’t want it to be that way,” Laudan said. “Despite the fact that there’s a lot of stress involved, enjoy senior year as much as you can.”