With finals approaching, it seems that academic burnout is inevitable. The first semester of senior year is especially stressful and burns out many. This is a particularly stressful period of high school, with classes, extracurriculars, and college applications to juggle.
AP Statistics and Statistics AB teacher Melanie Montevideo has seen this pressure in countless seniors.
“It’s either too many academic classes or responsibilities at home, or maybe you have a job that you’re trying to balance,” Montevideo said.
Finding the right balance in life is essential, which means getting a head start on college applications is a must according to alumnus Patrick Lowenstein, who said that “for college applications, try to get your personal statement roughly done in the summer before senior year.”
Not only that, but other alumni say that making sure to spend time with friends and family is equally as important. Alumnus Olivia Kao said that “prioritizing your wellbeing and your relationships with loved ones is far more important than writing the ‘perfect’ college essay.”
By January, most college applications have already been submitted, lifting an enormous weight off their shoulders. Kao said that “I was not as concerned about my grades second semester as I was first semester [since] you’ve already submitted all you need to colleges.”
Although the second semester seems like the perfect time to finally relax, many seniors feel emotionally drained as soon as their college applications have been submitted.
Senior year was both stressful and relaxed, but there is no other way Lowenstein would have it. “I feel like saying I would do anything differently would discount the work I did to get where I am.”
Senior year can unfold many different ways and mistakes will be made in the process, but knowing that everything will work out makes the journey easier.
After seeing countless senior years go by, Montevideo reassures students saying that “even if things don’t pan out the way that you want it to, in some way, shape, or form, things at the end of the day will work out.”