Junior year has been my most rigorous school year yet. The workload is unmatched. My classes are more challenging. The ACT and SAT are in a few months, and I’m trying to find ways to build my college resume. Older students had always told me that junior year is the hardest. I never believed them… until now.
After receiving my class schedule in the summer, I was feeling confident. After going through my classes the first day, the stress and anxiety started to set in. Within the first week, the workload got much heavier and I was doing at least two hours of work at home each night.
“The amount of homework my daughter had every night was insane. She never got a break and a chance to reach higher,” said math teacher and mother, Mrs. Oberwise.
The workload has been tremendously more than last year, and the stress of getting good grades for college transcripts is high.
“Even though the work might not be harder, I’m getting work that will take more time and consideration,” said junior Aubrey Rowe.
Going into my junior year, the counselors pushed everyone to move up in their classes because that’s what the colleges want to see as a “challenge.”
I moved up to honors in a few classes this year and my grades have also seen a decrease from what they were last year. I have had to work a lot harder and put in more study hours to get a score I’m still not happy with.
“Junior year was a huge challenge for me but I learned how to prioritize my time and be efficient,” said senior Mike Philip.
I have realized over my two years at Marist how to prioritize my time. Although I have tons of work to divide up, it is very helpful when I know how to use time management.
As a junior, when I go to family parties or when I’m talking to an adult, I often get asked the question, ‘Where are you going to college?’ or ‘What are you going to major in?’ I’m already stressed enough with school now, that I don’t even want to think about college.
“I hate the question of ‘Where you are going to college?’” said junior Abby McClorey.
College counselors will start reaching out to juniors in the 2nd semester. I get emails that fill up my inbox from colleges across the nation. I will be having a day where I don’t want to think about my future and I will get a notification from a college.
“Juniors understand how important grades are. It becomes real, like I have to get good grades to get into the college I want,” said Oberwise.
It’s also very difficult to have time for rest when I play two sports, volunteer at food banks, and have tons of work on my plate.
I predict junior year is going to continue to be rough, but hopefully in the end all my hard work will pay off.
