The SAT is coming up for high school juniors across the country and for many this can be seen as the last straw in a series of tortures that students must endure to finish their junior year of high school.
Between trying to get your GPA up for the final time before applying to colleges, figuring out what colleges are and aren’t going to be options and deciding if you’ll be taking the ACT, SAT or in some cases both.
Some students are also balancing a club or a sport and sometimes multiple of those while others are in the performing arts.
The SAT falls smack dab in the middle of all of this chaos, and for some, this causes extreme amounts of stress.
“It’s been a lot,” junior Dean Schlarman said. “I’ve got to start looking at colleges and start studying for the tests while trying to keep pace with my high school work and keep up with two different hockey teams.”
The SAT is also one of the major determining factors that helps you see what kind of colleges will be realistic for you. For some, a good SAT or ACT score can open or close the door of your dream school. While some schools have tried to get away from standardized test scores, and most schools don’t require you to submit a score, they still are a major factor in your college decision.
“Junior year was brutal!” senior Konnor Goclan said. “I had to get myself to ACT classes, hockey practices and try to keep up with all my other regular classes. It kind of sucks but it’s just something that you have to get through.”
On top of keeping up with your current grades and extracurriculars, you have to start thinking about colleges and what kinds of activities give you the best chance of getting in there. You also have to take at least the SAT, with it being a graduation requirement at EHS, and try to get a good score for you.
This creates a stressful environment where it can be hard to get good work done in. The CDC recommends sleep, exercise, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and making sure to take time for yourself. So, however you decide to approach your junior year make sure you don’t overwork yourself and do things that make you happy.
