Surviving

Junior Year

             They say “What won’t kill you will make you stronger!”  I am here to tell you that I have survived junior year of high school.  Nothing I’ve heard or read could have fully prepared me for the intensity of junior year.  Mind you, not every junior has the same intense experience, but the student athlete who is striving to excel both academically and athletically will surely feel the pressure.  Here are some common junior year experiences.

             Junior year is when students really begin to distinguish themselves as being capable of handling college level work.  Most schools offer Advance Placement (AP) courses, which are college level courses for which you take a standardized exam in May to measure your proficiency in the subject.  The subject content is definitely more in depth than honors classes.  Speaking from the experience I had with the three AP classes I took, the quality of teaching makes a huge difference in the difficulty and the time consumption of the courses.

             Junior year is also when most students begin to take college entrance exams, such as

 SAT Reasoning, SAT Subjects, and ACT.   These exams are offered throughout the academic year.   The challenge is to find time to review for them and to take them, given the demanding course load and practice schedules, as well as the potential for conflicts with swim meets.  I took advantage of the summer before junior year to study for the SATs.  I was able to get a few exams out of the way in early fall, which relieved me of some pressure. 

             As if academic responsibilities aren’t enough, most students dedicate a fair amount of time touring colleges during their junior year.  This process can be time consuming, especially if you are considering universities all over the country.  The tours help you decide what type of college environment you are more comfortable in:  large or small; urban, suburban or rural; historic or modern.  Thankfully, I did many of my tours during my sophomore spring break and the summer before junior year began. 

                          Continued