Senior year, the best year of our lives. The year where we're on top. The beginning of adulthood; the ending of childhood. Students have been going into senior year with high expectations ever since High School Musical 3 came out. Your parents, teachers, best friends sisters aunts boyfriends dog, everyone you know shoving mediocre advice on how to overcome this year down your throat as you force a smile past your RBF and nod as if you are even remotely listening to a word they say. Well, they're all right. Yes, it flies by. Yes, eat all of your parents home cooked meals. It is all true and helpful but it's not what you need to hear. What you need is advice from actual seniors, well the ones that just graduated.
1) Take your SATs/ACTs.. A lot!
Oh, standardized testing - the most mentally draining, most important way to spend on Saturday a month. Though the thought of these tests causes an immediate headache, the college application process is cut throat and these scores could make or break you. It's best if you start knocking these out early so you have the time to take them a few times. There's nothing worse than a completed application waiting on test scores to be sent.
2) Get Involved!
This is your last year here so make it count! One thing most colleges and scholarship committees look for is a student that not only competes well academically, but a student involved in the school and community as well. Joining clubs an organizations will help you obtain the well roundedness you need to succeed in college. Don't just sit around and let your year fly by, seize the moment!
3) Apply for college early!
You may not know where you want to go or what you want to do yet and that's okay! There are so many options when it comes to what to do after high school, check each one of them out carefully. Since most schools have strict deadlines, it's crucial you follow those. Start applying early to give yourself the best shot at getting in.
4) Pick the school thats right for YOU!
After all of the decision letters are sent out and the annual Instagram acceptance packet pictures are uploaded, it's time for the hard part, choosing a school. When choosing a school there's a lot to take under consideration: location; tuition cost; majors and programs. It's easy to sway towards where your friends are looking at going but this is your time to make the decision based on what's best for you, not them. Whether it be the school you've been set on since you were six or one you stumbled upon recently and fell in love with, choose the school that's right for you.
5) Don't slack off just because you're almost done!
Your high school career is coming to a close. You've chosen a school or job. You've done pretty much all of the difficult stuff so you're done, right? Wrong. Colleges can and will take away your acceptance just as easy as they gave it to you. It's easy to slack off but don't let that slack pull you down and hold you back. Colleges look at you from the second you apply to the second you graduate from that university. They pay attention to your grades, attendance and behavior even after they accept you. Don't ruin your chance for success because you're lazy.
6) Get a job!
One of the less appealing aspects of adulthood is getting a job. I know working your senior year doesn't sound like the most fun thing in the world but it's time to grow up. You're an adult now. You can't mooch off of your parents anymore. You have to learn responsibility and the value of money. It's time to learn to budget. If you start saving now then you should have enough of a pillow to keep you from having to get a job your Freshman year of college. You'll thank yourself later.
7) Friends will come and go.
This is a lesson you've been learning all of your life and it's no different now. You and your friends have reached a point in your lives where you're deciding what you want to do, who you want to be. You're making plans for your life that may not include them anymore. I wish I could say that you'll stay in touch with everyone when you graduate but rarely ever is that the case. You'll make friends, lose friends and make more friends. It's the circle of life.
8) Spend time with the people you love.
This is the last year you'll ever be all together with your friends and family in the same place at the same time. This is the last time it'll be easy to find the time to see these people. Enjoy their company. Make memories that'll carry you into college. Soak up your youth while you can. This year flies by, don't waste your time. Utilize every free second you have to spend time with the people you care about before you move on with your lives.
9) Have fun!
This may be the most stressful, life changing, emotional year of your life but it's also one of the best. This year you will learn so much about yourself. You have the freedom to decide the rest of your life. You'll have football games and prom. You'll have all of the graduation festivities. Don't let the stress of school ruin all of the great things that come along with being a senior!
In the end, no one can really prepare you for your senior year because everyone has a different experience. Just go into it with an open mind and make it the best year ever (so far)!
