Long study nights, dark eye bags, and a partial social life are what the dreadful junior year consists of. Since it is one of the hardest years of high school, many students feel overwhelmed before the school year even begins.
It has been tested and proven that teen stress levels have continuously increased due to academic pressures, extracurriculars, and more. The first semester tends to start slow as students are still adjusting to their classes; however, once fall is in full swing, it feels as though everything suddenly gets quicker and more intense. Not to mention, this is the year that colleges truly look at all a student’s academic performances and achievements.
A very crucial portion of junior year is for students to take either the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT). These tests are taken nationwide and are what all colleges mainly focus on when looking through college applications.
With these tests being extremely complex, oftentimes students have lots of studying to do, and end up in their free time taking preparation classes or participating in intense study sessions, to ensure they get the score they want. “When taking the SAT I’ve learned that it’s a time crunch with having to get about 25 questions done in 30 minutes while getting most of them right,” junior Evelyn Varghese expressed.
In addition to the SAT and the ACT, students also take on the task of Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) and Advanced Placement (AP) classes. As one can take a variety of these classes for different subjects, each curriculum is rigorous, meaning hours of homework and a lot of balance.
Soon enough, senior year will be approaching and the high school memories will be coming to an end, so juniors need to enjoy it all while they still can. After all, looking back in a few years, all the time and dedication will be put towards the future and will be guaranteed in good use.
“Personally, I have to deal with a lot of things inside and outside of school constantly. Every day I have something to do, and I have to get ready for college applications soon. [For me,] this is definitely my most challenging year, but it is also the most important.” – Tyler Dawkins, junior
“My goal for the rest of the year is to continue being consistent whether it be with school work, my job, my relationship with God, my youth group, etc. This year I’ve been able to branch out and take up roles in different areas of my life.” – Alexandra Erazo, junior
“Thinking about becoming a senior is kind of scary. Realizing how much time has passed and that I’m about to start a whole new chapter is honestly really [frightening.]” – Evelyn Varghese, junior
“The hardest thing I had to overcome this year is to stop being so unproductive because the more productive you are, the more work you get done.” – Brenda Fuxman, junior
“I’ve taken three previous AICE classes and am currently in four. So far I have enjoyed them a lot even though they have definitely been very stressful at times, I enjoy the challenge and it has taught me how to pace myself through the increased workload.” – Ava Abello, junior
“My goal for the rest of the year is just to get straight A’s and then pass all my AICE and AP exams. I just want to get a 1350 or higher on the SAT because that is definitely one of my top goals because I wanna get into University of Florida (UF) and they have a really low acceptance rate so it’s harder [to get in] and I just wanna be on my game for that school.” – Camila Portalatin, junior
