I’m currently a junior and have a lot of work cut out for me: a good SAT score, managing 4 APs, volunteer work, a social life, and choosing my colleges. Plus I’m not the brightest kid so school takes up a lot of hours. During my free time, I can never get a real sense of relaxation as I always feel that I have some potential work I could be doing like learning about college in general, studying for future tests, helping around the house, etc. Some advice to cope with this would be great.
This is how many intelligent people feel 24/7…
OK, here’s the reality as I see it.
I’m a mom of 2 teens and a tween, and a high school math teacher— I’ve been teaching since the first Reagan administration.
The most important thing on the list-- the one you gave the least time to-- is your physical and mental health. Without that, the rest all fall apart. So you’ve got to make it a priority. That means getting to bed at a reasonable time-- minus technology. It means eating well. It means some exercise, whether that means walking the dog or a pickup game of hockey with your friends. But it’s the most important thing on that list.
Number two: right now, I would probably say “starting to consider” your college-- note that I made a pretty big change to your wording. You do NOT have to choose anything this year. All you have to do is narrow down the list of colleges to a reasonable number. But here’s the good news: your College Placement / Guidance counselor is a pro. So take a deep breath and be patient.
Here’s how we approached the search for my son, a Senior B student: We used college match features (here, and on different sites) to come up with a master list. It was HUGE-- probably 60 or 70 schools. We have a Word document that lists things like name, distance, current tuition, price of room and board, size, median SAT scores, pros and cons.
As we did more research, some were eliminated. Some were too expensive, or too far. Some were simply too much of a reach. (In the beginning, we used his PSAT scores, then his SATs once we had them.) Some had the wrong emphasis on his major. Once we started visiting schools— we started in about November of Junior year— we learned that he really wanted a smaller school, so some were eliminated because of size.
But in the beginning, start with that massive “maybe” list of schools. Hit the internet, find the college match tools, and use them. If you can start this, sometime in the beginning of Junior year, you’ll be way ahead of the game.
Next: grades. If you’re qualified for 4 AP’s, then I suspect you’re absolutely NOT “not the brightest kid.” My guess is that you’re very bright, but need to work on organization. Start now, while the year is young. Figure out what works for you, and make yourself the most organized you’ve ever been.
Helping around the house is important too-- your parents and siblings are also very busy. But that doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment. You can empty the dishwasher or do a load of laundry as you listen to music-- it can be relaxing. (The reason your parents need help with it – well, aside from the fact that you’re simply old enough to help-- is because there’s SO MUCH of it, not because it’s that hard or unpleasant to do.)
Big picture: relax. You’ll get through this if you just keep everything in perspective.
Excellent advice and I could not say it any better^^^^. Kudos @bjkmom
Wasn’t expecting a large response like that. Thank you!
Sorry. Between being a mom and a high school teacher, this is pretty much what I do.
Hope you’re feeling better.