The Stress of Senior Year
“Although from time to time it might feel difficult or overwhelming, remember you’ve made it this far in your education, and this is only the beginning of a long new chapter in your life that is just waiting for you.”
The saying “High School will happen in a blink of an eye” was something I didn’t believe to be true until I lived it myself. Senior year is a unique experience that can be completely different for each individual, but there is one word I think everyone can relate to: stress. Many might say senior year is like any other year of their lives, and others say it holds great significance, but the question remains: how does senior year actually affect students?
During senior year, many events or major acts take place, such as college applications and decisions, preparing for the workforce, deciding what comes next, or just the reality that after we leave those doors, we will be considered adults. The outstanding fact is that all these major events can become overwhelming and stressful. The importance of 12th grade is highly significant due to its possible effect on the rest of your life. This fact indicates the importance of managing stress levels, which is crucial for the decision-making that will take place during this time.
To identify the struggles that seniors might experience, we decided to hear from our current seniors from the class of 2025. Throughout most discussions, there were big trends when it came to senior year.
A topic that emerged was the stress of post-secondary life such as attending college. Denisse Gonzalez stated: “When it comes to the time to go to college, I am stressing about that, just attending it. Only because it is so far from where I live. It's in Connecticut. I get homesick if I'm not home. And knowing that I'm staying there for months, it does worry me.”
An aspect that was highlighted is the overwhelming realization that our high school years are coming to an end. Monica Rosales said: “My point of view is that I'm still stuck in my ninth grade mind telling myself, I'm not going to graduate for a long time. But now I'm a senior, I'm 17, literally almost 18. And well, it went by really fast.”
Another point that surfaced is the amount of tasks that seniors encounter. During the conversation with Salma Faisal, she stated: “I have been stressed basically balancing my work for other classes and also filling out college applications, listing classes, things of that nature, and that's really where that stress comes from.” One senior, AK, added: “It's been tough, I feel like there's a lot going on all at once, like, classes are pretty good, but also like there's the college process and we even miss class because of applying to college.” It seems that every senior is experiencing some sort of stress. Which induces how the struggle can be real for us, or even for you.
After hearing only a few of the major struggles this year's 12th graders had to say, I have reached the conclusion on what we as a community can do to improve this experience to make it as enjoyable and productive as it can be. In working with Sawuda, the Student Council President of Comp Sci High, I heard her bring up some ideas.She told me: “Senior year is the last year where you are able to actually experience things in high school, because once you go to college, you become an adult. I feel like we could have been given more activities when it came to us bonding. It seems that in a way everybody is secluded in their own group. And I feel like the school could have done better when it came to creating events throughout the year that involved being able to interact with the lower classmen and our own grade. Instead of focusing so much on work, which the school has been with such a high focus that it feels like they're ruining the fun that we have that we're supposed to have. I think the school needs to hear student feedback. I think they listen to hear, not to respond. And I feel like that's the problem because if you actually speak to any senior in the school, they're actually emotionally tired.” The main goal is to make the senior experience as pleasant as possible, and to make this a reality, we have to listen to our students and put their suggestions into play.
There’s no denying that senior year can be incredibly challenging, and although this year can be highly stressful there can be some ways you can cope. Throughout the interviews that were conducted, I had the privilege to be able to talk to a few alumni from CSH, who shared their experience of leaving high school and entering college.
One alum, Jasmine, said: “I believe CSH sets proper expectations on how the academic setting will change. But what I wasn't prepared for was the shift within a social setting. I personally found it difficult to start over again with new people. I think a shift from a familiar environment to a different one is something that we may all be struggling with, even if it's on a different level.”
Laila, one alum, said: “As for CSH, I would say that it did prepare me for college but I also did a lot of preparation myself. All of the study habits that I built and just my work ethic and of course I had practice implementing them in CSH. I will say that CSH did teach me to better manage my time, which is really valuable now as I’m very heavily involved on campus. One thing I really wish that CSH did prepare me for was research papers. I had never written a research paper in high school and I got asked to write one last quarter and I remember freaking out and feeling imposter syndrome because all of my peers had done that in high school and I was the only one who hadn’t.”
And finally, Evelyn said: “My college experience has been amazing so far! I really enjoy the freedom I have and the classes I’m taking. Reflecting on my senior year at CSH, I feel it both prepared me and fell short in certain ways. On one hand, they provided us with valuable resources and guidance, which I appreciated. However, when I got to college, I realized I had to teach myself certain skills, like MLA formatting, which could have been emphasized more. These challenges should have been introduced earlier to better prepare us for the demands of college life.”
The transition from high school to college can be challenging, and as we could see during the alumni experiences there will always be a need for support during their time in CSH, and after, wherever that you plan to go. Why not rely on the CSH post secondary team to support you throughout this challenging journey?
Lastly I’ve had the privilege to talk to the CSH post secondary team, Ms. Del Toro and Mr. Champagne, to ask their viewpoint on the post secondary experience and how they help. In the quotes below they will be talking about the times they’ve helped students, who were struggling during their journey.
Ms. Del Toro stated: “I help students who didn't choose the college route graduate from Comp Sci High and work with me to figure out what their next steps are. In college, they are starting off the semester, which, if it wasn't for our work together, probably wouldn't have happened because they were confused, they weren't sure what they wanted to do, and they just needed help figuring out the next steps they needed to do. Another awesome experience is like, whenever I have a student who is timid on campus, and they just got there, they feel lonely, they're unsure what to do, and they're kind of overwhelmed by the new experiences, we have that conversation of what they are interested in and where they can find that interest.”
Mr. Champagne said: “I would say, a major win is getting a student who didn't originally enroll in college to, after a year, apply and go back. Not only that, I like to get to sit down with them and help them pinpoint exactly what it is that they want to study. I think oftentimes there is a stigma around students who aren't going to college directly, when in reality, that year is really a solid time for them to identify what they want to do with their life.”
Even though times can get overwhelming at times, you don't have to do it alone. While you reach out to your resources or even loved ones, there will always be support along this stressful journey. The honest truth is that no one can thoroughly explain how or what senior year is until you live it, or even tell you exactly what to do when you graduate and start a new chapter of your life. Although from time to time it might feel difficult or overwhelming, remember, you’ve made it this far in your education, as well as the thought that this is only the beginning of a long new chapter in your life that is just waiting for you. You are capable of overcoming these obstacles and much more.