During freshman and sophomore year, I constantly heard upperclassmen and teachers say, “Just wait until junior year.” So, throughout my early years at La Salle, I was very anxious to enter into what was known as “the most challenging year at La Salle.”

However, when junior year quickly approached, I found myself waiting for the time where I was just surrounded by piles and piles of unbearable homework.

I am not going to say that there weren’t any nights where I stayed up later than I should have to finish an assignment; however, the stress that I have felt throughout the past two and half months of senior year has already surpassed all of my stress from junior year.

One major component of my stress is of course college applications. I, and many of my fellow classmates, have found it very difficult to live out our chaotic schedules while also trying to enjoy every last activity at La Salle.

Although I have now completed my college apps, I still feel this added stress as I anticipate answers from all of the schools that I applied to.

Another aspect, that isn’t necessarily surprising but that does contribute to the stress is the tough expectations of many teachers. I have found that teachers expect even more out of seniors because they are helping us prepare for college. I know that this will make the transition to college easier next year, but in this moment, right now, it is very overwhelming. At times, I am almost finding it difficult to enjoy my last year at La Salle.

I am not trying to scare anyone but I want to inform people of the common misconception that senior year is not as hard as junior year.

Here is some advice that I did or wish I would have done before I started my senior year. Following this advice can help to make your senior year not as overwhelming:

• Get a head start on your college applications during the summer after junior year. It never hurts to be ahead of the game, and I wish I would have done more of this so I wasn’t as stressed during the beginning of the year.
• Research colleges/universities: Find out what criteria the colleges/universities that you are interested in require for their applications (SAT or ACT, with essay or not, letters of recommendation or not, etc).
• Visit colleges: It is important to visit colleges that you are interested in at least once to get a feel for the campus and environment. A good time to schedule visits is during spring break of junior year, summer break, and the beginning of senior year.
• SAT/ACT: Take either (or both) of these tests at least once or even twice junior year. You can also take one again at the beginning of senior year.
• Begin drafting your college application essay. I know junior year you may not be thinking about your college essay, but I decided to write my essay over the summer. I found that to be very helpful because I was able to give my essay to a teacher to edit it at the beginning of the school year. This helped me to not be as stressed with all of the other homework I had. 

Here are some things that I (and many of my classmates) didn’t know about at the start of senior year, and that I wish I was told during my junior year:

• Fill out your resume on Naviance. This is something that many seniors don’t know about but it is important because teachers use your resume to write your letters of recommendation. (To fill out your resume: Log into your Naviance account (or make one using your lshigh email). Then, at the top, click on the “About Me” tab. Scroll down and under “Interesting things about me”, click on “resume.”)
• Fill out the “request for teacher letter of recommendation” form and “request for counselor letter of recommendation” form. You have to fill out these forms (along with your resume) before you ask a teacher or counselor to write you a letter of recommendation. 
• Letters of recommendation: Ask teachers and your counselor to write you one (and give them your form and resume). Most seniors ask their teachers at the beginning of senior year, so it would be a good idea to get an early start at the end of junior year,  so that teachers are also not overwhelmed with a long list of letters to write. 

Even though it may seem far away, I hope that this advice can help to make the beginning of your senior year not as overwhelming as mine was. If you still have questions, you can meet with your counselor, or feel free to leave a comment below.