Going into your senior year of high school can be scary. New classes and the college application process can bring a lot of stress to students.
Junior Garrett Cutajar said: “I’m excited about being a senior and graduating, but not at the same time.”
The idea of going into the next chapter of a student’s life can be exciting. The senior activities also get the juniors excited.
Junior Kate Fausz said: “I’m excited to be a senior for all of the senior activities and to transition into the next phase of my life.”
Although the thought of leaving for college can be scary or stressful, meeting new people and having new experiences can be exciting to students.
Junior Lyla Bottom said: “I’m ready to have a fresh start and meet new people in college.”
The application process can be long and stressful for students and finding the right fit for a school you will go to for 4 years can be a big decision.
Junior Jenna Richey said: “I haven’t started the application process but I’m excited to start, I think it will be stressful at times but I’m still excited.”
Writing the essay for the application process can be stressful and difficult for students, and picking a topic that will make a good essay is a big part of the process.
Fausz said: “I think my application process will be very stressful and difficult, especially brainstorming essay topics,…I have been looking into larger public universities.”
There is still some uncertainty about specific colleges, but finding a big or small school is a factor that students need to think about. Deciding how far students want to go is a big part of the final decision of what college is the best fit for them.
Bottom said: “I am not sure yet if I want to stay close to home or far away.”
Other students know where they want to go and start making lists of what schools are interesting for them.
Junior Lianne Guttadauro said: “ I have been looking at schools like Morehead, MSJ, and Xavier.”
Figuring out a major for college can determine what kind of classes juniors decide to take during their senior year. Usually, students follow the “career paths” that they likely have been following their whole high school career.
Bottom said: “I want to major in child development/ education so I will take Mrs. [Ahren] Wagner’s class for child development where you get to go to preschool/ elementary schools and help out.”
The AP classes that are offered, while challenging, will give students the opportunity to get a lot of credits to increase their probability of getting a full scholarship without sports.
Fausz: “I am taking all AP classes to challenge myself and get as much college credit as possible.”
Classes offered for your senior year are different and open up more opportunities for students to dive into a career path and what students would want to take.
Richey said: “I’m looking at taking classes that will help me in college and in my major, so I’m taking classes like AP psychology and anatomy and physiology.”
Another decision that students have to make is whether they want to play sports or keep doing their extracurricular activities in college. In some cases, students want to be recruited to a college to play their sport at a more competitive level.
Bottom said: “I do think it would be fun to play volleyball in college so I am interested in that but if I don’t it won’t be the end of the world.”
Some students make the decision to not play for a college team, but they would like to play for a club while being in college. That takes away the pressure of playing for a college team and the stress.
Fausz said: “I do not plan on playing any collegiate sports but I do want to play club sports.”