<p>Out of curiosity; I really want to know and hear from seniors on how they're last year went trying to apply to colleges, financial aids, jobs, extra-curricular && still keep up with school. Because I find that extra-ordinary for a student to actually maintain all of that in one school year. Senior year is coming so while you tell your story provide some advice in how to manage all of this. </p>
<p>Thanks =]</p>
<p>Well the fact is, its a busy time. My EC's were mainly sports-based, so they were actually somewhat of a stress reliever when i felt flustered. Do not procrastinate on applications/essays. You will regret that when it is time to send everything to colleges. During the first half of the year, things will get tough, but i found that thinking about a much more relaxed second semester had a nice calming effect.</p>
<p>hmmm......word!...I don't see playing sports as a stress-reliever; FOOTBALL?....you can tackle my stress out..LOL....</p>
<p>Senior year for the first half was a big pain. You see, Nov 30th (or whenever most apps are due) you'll assume that everything will be easy from there. Unfortunately, its not. Theres always some stupid little thing that comes up, whether it be scholarship essays/recs, bogus projects from teachers, that kind of thing. </p>
<p>However, second semester is much better, except around the time decisions come because everyone is nervous/depressed depending on their application status. But no matter what, you should enjoy your senior year, I never really liked High School until this past year.</p>
<p>but the scholarshiop/essay thing is all mandatory stuff that you don'tn ecessarily have to do unlike the projects youare talking about with teachers....High school was just annoying overall......&& it only gets more annoyingw hen senior year comes.......but once i getinto my early decision <em>(hopefully)</em>...ill relax much more</p>
<p>Yeah, my senior year was hectic to say the least, between applications, AP tests, working, financial aid forms, and EC's, it was surely a big pain, but just taking it day in and day out can get the job done.</p>
<p>I'm so worried. My French exchange student is coming right during the application frenzy. Eeeeek!</p>
<p>Les0s are you a teacher?</p>
<p>Well, I don't know how I'm gonna handle my senior year. International student in a French HS applying for US colleges ;-)</p>
<p>knwoing French && English should give you somewhat of an advantage....foreign languages help=]</p>
<p>While the inquiry was directed to graduated seniors, I will be a presumptuous parent and share what my daughter did. Simply put, she used the summer to do all of her applications and essays. I know that junior year is a demanding, stress filled grind and everyone looks forward to just relaxing a bit and decompressing during the summer. But the original poster is right. Senior year can be incredibly stressful because you not only have to maintain your grades and EC's but you have to contend with all the college stuff too. In my daughter's case, she also had to audition at all of her schools.</p>
<p>So she used the summer to get the apps and essays done. Apps for the 2007 application year usually are out and available on school and the Common App websites by mid-July. Wherever possible she used the Common Application which drastically cuts down on the time for filling out Apps and doing the long essays. While most schools that accept the Common App require individual school supplements, using the Common App and Supplements for 6 - 12 schools is still less time consuming and easier than 6 - 12 separate apps. She also made a timeline for herself and kept organized. Setting up a timeline and sticking to it is critical. By doing these things, even though she was away for 6 weeks at a summer college program, she was able to have all of her apps w/essays submitted by mid-September. It took tremendous stress off of her and she was able to focus on normal high school related stuff and her auditions. In contrast, she watched those of her friends who procrastinated over the summer go nuts the first half of their senior year as they struggled to get their apps out and still attend to everything else.</p>
<p>Good luck to all of you rising seniors.</p>
<p>First semester of senior year was definitely stressful because time management skills (which I still definitely need to improve) became really important. All of the college-related stuff tacked onto other responsibilities often felt like a burden. Luckily, second semester makes all the blood, sweat, and tears worthwhile. :]</p>
<p>Overall, I would say that, in order to get through and succeed in the first semester of senior year, just breathe and handle everything a little bit at a time. Try not to procrastinate (which I sort of did by not really doing any college-related things the summer before senior year :P) because it'll just make everything more stressful than it needs to be. Work on all the applications, forms, essays, etc. little by little each day. Talking with friends, teachers/counselors, and family for support is also helpful and help keep a perspective on your life. Don't forget to chill out once in a while :]</p>
<p>Thanks....I already started on my essay since May so yeah i already have that && applications from colleges should be arriving in the mail. the only thing that I proscrastinate about is just plain school work && homework etc.</p>