Junior year is full of stress, sleepless nights, mounting pressure and headaches. Considered the most competitive and difficult year throughout high school, junior year is the time to catch up on all grades if you were slacking your first two years. It is the one year colleges look at precisely.

Emily Bak, a junior, says, “The most stressful things about junior year is the SATs, the pressure from my parents about my grades, and the lack of sleep I get each night due to the tremendous amounts of homework.”

She isn’t exaggerating! Most students get four to five hours or less of sleep due to homework and after-school activities. Arianna Vega, a senior, admits that she never really slept on school nights during her junior year.

To help with the stress of SATs, our school offers SAT Prep as a half-year course. Be sure to take the SATs multiple times and then choose the one you want to show up on your transcript.

Most underclassmen think junior year is all about fun being that it’s close to graduation. Mary Vetter, a sophomore, says, “I’m looking forward to BOCES and graduating, which means I can start over and finally plan my life out.”

In reality, juniors need to work hard, study, stay on top of their grades and participate in clubs. I suggest that you get your community service done ahead of time. No one wants to be stuck with his or her hours at the end of the year, like I always do.

Seniors Arianna Vega and Zach Ellenhorn offered advice on how to survive junior year.  Arianna suggested just “doing your best!” and Zach said, “Don’t procrastinate.”

Even better than not procrastinating, stay ahead of the game.  Always ask teachers questions and stay after for extra help if you have any trouble.  If you are still struggling in a subject, don’t be ashamed, get a tutor!