I'm a student & I am getting 110% STRESSED.. any help?

Parents Forum
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<p>Hi there. I'm going to be a senior this coming fall and I am really starting to get stressed...</p>

<p>Right now I am working two jobs (just to save up for the immense payments for college). One full-time job & one part-time job...</p>

<p>I have no idea what I want to do for college or even where I want to go, but I know I have to decide ASAP because I have to start applying in September/October/November...</p>

<p>I've been searching madly for scholarships online because the more scholarships I can receive, the better... (my family is not rich.) I have written multiple essays, some poems, entered my name in scholarship contests and and I am about to write a story...</p>

<p>I have to take drivers ed, very important, but I'm not sure I can fit it into my schedule..</p>

<p>I have to take the SAT's again because I did horribly the first time (1490). I did bad the first time because I was stressed out, due to the fact I had so much going on in school (Varsity Softball Team, I was Junior Class President, part of SADD, Peer Mediation Club, Health Committee, Prom, etc.)
I am about to buy a $50 book from online that claims it can help me a lot on my SAT's. Just a waste of money, or a good investment? I don't know. All I know is, I need to ace the SATs.</p>

<p>I am thinking about taking the ACTs?</p>

<p>And, I am trying to be a normal 17-year-old girl who likes going out with her friends and family and having fun.</p>

<p>I am just getting VERY stressed out and I know I'm not the only one going through this, I know many kids my age are going through this. I feel like I need to do "this, that and the other thing" to get ahead, to do good in life...</p>

<p>I just need to know it's going to get easier... </p>

<p>Anyone who replies to this thread... THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOD BLESS.</p>

<p>Sincerely,
STRESSED :)</p>

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<p>Dear laur808, I am feeling stressed just reading your post. You sound like a VERY busy student who needs a little time to relax and just think. Actually you sound a lot like my son his junior year of high school...and some of the senior year, although he tried to slow down a bit then.</p>

<p>First I assume the fulltime job is a summer job? That would certainly be too much to be working while going to school! I commend you for wanting to earn money for college, but don't work so hard you don't have time for school work and other things that are important to you. (including family)</p>

<p>You have a great list of EC's, but considering your stress level, maybe TOO many. Maybe you need to consider which are most important to you and drop those that mean less. It isn't the number that matter, but the depth. Also it will be important to do well on the SAT, if you are looking for scholarships.</p>

<p>The biggest scholarships most students get are those from the schools they end up attending. You certainly can apply for outside scholarships, but it may be best to concentrate on smaller, local ones, rather than the huge national ones that draw a huge number of applicants. These are very hard to win if you aren't the best of the best, academically, in leadership, and in community service. Remember that some colleges give good need-based aid. It may be good to look for those as you are making up your list, if your parents' income is low.</p>

<p>Now give people an idea of what you want in a college, and I'm sure there will be people here who can help you with your list. :)</p>

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<p>Hey, I'm a rising senior and I can lly relate.</p>

<p>I agree with Susantm .. I think you may have too many activities. Do you have certain activities that you have spent a lot of time doing and have leadership positions? .Those are probably the activities you want to concentrate on</p>

<p>I would take the ACTs .. and if your family is having a lot of money issues .. try asking for a fee waiver on the SATs .. there is only one book I would suggest buying fo the SATs and thats the Official one ... all of the others .. either go to barnes and noble and spend a Sat studying them without buying (I've done this) .. or just concentrate on ACts</p>

<p>Look for a couple of outside scholarships .. but I also agree that you should concetrate on gettin money from the college .. </p>

<p>the trick is findig colleges that are your safties/matches that will offer you a lot of money to come to their school because you are overqualified ..
which requires a lot of research .. and some help from your college counselor .. </p>

<p>KEEP UP YOUR GRADES AND TAKE THE HARDEST CLASSES YOU CAN ..this is probably the most important thing .. all of the other ECs you may be doing to help boost your chances take a backseat to the TRANSCRIPT</p>

<p>What subjects are you interested in? private or public college? ... you should start getin an idea soon so that you can scehdule interviews .. maybe visit .. begin your essays .. </p>

<p>BUT DONT FORGET TO CHILLL every once in a while .. its healthy ^^</p>

<p>hope that was some help! if you need any more advice from a fellow stressed out senior don't hesitate to ask! =]</p>

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<p>Laur, please stop stressing out! This part of your post shows an alarming lack of perspective!
"I have to take the SAT's again because I did horribly the first time (1490). I did bad the first time because I was stressed out, due to the fact I had so much going on in school (Varsity Softball Team, I was Junior Class President, part of SADD, Peer Mediation Club, Health Committee, Prom, etc.)"
A 1490 is HIGHLY competitive for all elite colleges. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about retaking the test. You did an excellent job, and I'm not just trying to make you feel better. Since you seem so stressed out, I recommend spending your time getting all your other work done (since you're involved in so many activities) and NOT studying for the SAT. Don't retake it. Spend your time getting other work done so you'll have time for yourself. You seem like an amazingly accomplished person (honest) so please calm down. :D</p>

<p>You need to spend some time seriously thinking about what you want. You're going into senior year but you are defined by your stress and your activities. You don't even know what colleges you want to go to. If I were you I would stop worrying completely about SATs, because your SAT is FINE. I would stop stressing out completely. Spend some time maintaining what you have now and NOT elevating your stress level any higher. Stay calm and spend time thinking about what you want from your future. Sounds to me like you're spending too much time stressing about to get there when you don't even know where "there" is!</p>

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<p>Wow -- Thank you so much to everyone who replied :) I will DEFINATELY use your advice. "Chilling out" sounds AWESOME. :) ... And some kind of ironically "good news", I won't be class president senior year because another girl was voted class pres. Thank God. lol.
Well thanks a lot everyone I seriously appreciate your time & advice. :)</p>

<p><3Laur</p>

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<p>Well that was easy, Laur! Have a nice senior year...and don't stress about college.
Which colleges are you considering applying to?</p>

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<p>First, take a deep breath & go out and buy yourself an ice cream. </p>

<p>And then, take it all step-by-step, realizing that:</p>

<ol>
<li>Your SATs are not terrible. Good for you for wanting to do even better, but 1490 is a score not to be ashamed of. </li>
<li>You can learn a tremendous amount about schools/scholarships by devoting just a half hour per day on the computer. In no time, you'll be so well informed, friends will be asking YOU for advice.</li>
<li>It's OK at this stage not to know where you want to go. Keep asking yourself what appeals to you best: home/away? big/small? urban/suburban? Take your time while learning about possible options. The answers will come. And you'll live to tell about it. Honest.</li>
</ol>

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<p>
[quote]
A 1490 is HIGHLY competitive for all elite colleges.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>oops, Mallomar, I'm afraid you're thinking of the old SAT scheme; now that the SAT includes a writing portion, a perfect score is 2400. The 1490 is just slightly below average, and the poster can bring that up (I personally advise reading for pleasure rather than cramming on SAT prep books), but bringing it up to elite level would be unusual.</p>

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<p>OH in that case we are all mistaken. Laur, will you please clear this up for us? Was the 1490 on a 2400 scale or a 1600 scale?
If it is indeed the 2400 scale, I recommend the ACT...and I still think a "chill-out" is in order. No one can improve with stress blinding them.</p>

<p>Edit: I found this on another thread
"I recently receieved my SAT scores back...</p>

<p>Critical Reading 520
Math 440
Writing 530"</p>

<p>So yes, Laur, you do need to improve your test scores, but I would not worry too much. I saw your college list and you don't need to get sky-high scores to get the results you are looking for.</p>

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<p>Yes it was on a scale of 2400 - - and I made the mistake of not studying barely at all beforehand, because some people told me that cramming would mess up my scores... and I also wasn't told that not answering a question if I did not know the answer did not deduct points from my score. I'm sure I'll do better the 2nd time around. Thank you everyone.</p>

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<p>Hi mall-
I am a mom of a rising senior. I noted your kind words to the stressed out student.
I am not sure...but I think the 1400's is based on the new SAT--which now has three components @ 800 each for a total of 2400. If this is the case, then this student should take them again-hopefully with a little more breathing :0)</p>

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<p>lol :) I will breathe this time. Thank you.</p>

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<p>laur808--u r welcome
PS. I think you are getting good input. My gut tells me know already know what you need to do, and I am here to reassure you-you are so very special, any college would benefit from your attendence. I promise you, the school you choose-and who chooses you-will be the perfect match. The world needs people like you :0) a mom</p>

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<p>Thank you so much :) This is so encouraging. Thank you everyone</p>

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<p>Mm I would take the SATs or ACTs again ... buutt I don't think they go up or down more than about 20-30 points</p>

<p>it really comes down to the colleges you want to apply to ...if your dream college is in that range or even slightly above .. then you don't have to worry as much</p>

<p>I would start gettin a college list as soon as possible though so that you can start thinking about essay .. teacher recs yah da yah da =]</p>

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<p>SAT scores can go up appreciably if a person studies, especially if there were special circumstances the first time around, such as laur808 mentions about being really stressed out. Also just being familiar with the test can make it easier the second time around. It is certainly worth a try.</p>

<p>It could also be a good idea to try the ACT. Some people do better on one, some on the other. </p>

<p>As for study books, if you have a good public library nearby, they usually carry a lot of SAT study books. You could look through several and check out the one you think would work best for you. That would save a few bucks. Some of it is just learning about effective strategy, as well as knowing how each section works, so you don't waste valuable test taking time figuring out how they want you to answer (such as in the gridded answers) or whether it is worthwhile to guess (depends on how many answers you can eliminate). (You could get an ACT study book, too, and try a practice test, to see if it might be better suited to your test taking style.)</p>

<p>You'll make it, laur808. This time next year you will be excitedly buying twin long sheets and registering for classes, on your way to a new adventure!</p>

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<p>Do you have the big College Board blue book? The official SAT one...that's probably the best one for practice tests and familiarizing yourself with the concepts on the test. It's about $20 I think but it's pretty common to find it in libraries so you could probably just Xerox some pages of practices tests out of it or something. </p>

<p>I found this site helpful for reviewing some math topics for the PSAT:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.satmathpro.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.satmathpro.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>It wasn't too long ago when I was in your shoes, so I know what it's like. I also had to work quite a bit (worked full-time throughout my senior year of high school) and was very worried about money and college. It really doesn't help to stress out and, while this seems hollow, I can tell you that it's going to be okay and that you've got plenty of options (especially here in Massachusetts). </p>

<p>Really, the part of the process you're going into right now should be a lot of fun. Finding and getting into college should be exciting, so I highly recommend that you take some time to enjoy it. Do what you can to improve your scores and whatnot, but don't break any bones doing so. Recognize and stay within your own limits and utilize your strengths in the application process.</p>

<p>If you want stress, just wait until you graduate!</p>

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<p>Take a deep breathe and relax. My d also did not test well and her SAT's were lower than your scores. She doesn't do the SAT well but she was way more successful on the ACT. I have a feeling you too will do better on that test. I think alot of it is based on learning styles and you may find the ACT test a much better fit. Get the ACT book- do a practice test or two to familiarize yourself with format and try that test.
But I also think you have to be somewhat realistic too. Due to cost factors, and the realization that it was unlikely we would get merit money, we looked primarily at the second tier state U's. Instead of applying to U Md, my d applied and was accepted to Towson. D applied and was accepted to Temple (did not apply to Penn State). I got the brochure for U Mass at Lowell which looked like a fine school too. Of course try for U Mass at Amherst too if it meets your needs, but you do have to concentrate on good match/safety schools. That will take alot of the stress out of the college application process.<br>
PS my d's ACT score was an equivalent of 130 points higher than her SAT score and she got into 11 out of 12 schools. So last summer at this time, while she was stressing out, we can now look back at the situation and realize that things will work out ok if you plan wisely. My d also applied to one community college as an absolute safety. That really does take all the stress out of the process. Good luck!!</p>