At this time of year the juniors may be feeling a little impatient. They have to choose their courses for next year while they watch all of their senior friends choose what college they are going to next year or even their roommates. It can be very frustrating because, they are coming to the realization that they are almost seniors but they still have a year left.

One of the hardest things to do is picking classes for senior year. There are usually two different scenarios when juniors must choose their classes. The first is the girl who thinks that taking six AP classes during her senior year is what is going to get her into college. The second scenario is the girl who wants to take the easiest classes possible so she just does not have to try for senior year and can focus on college apps instead. These are both examples of what not to do.

The best thing to do when picking courses is to look for classes that you take an interest in and that you will put an effort into. Also, it helps if it will go towards benefitting the field of study you want to go into.

If you are thinking about taking an AP course it helps to succeed in the class if you are actually interested in the material. Also if you are set on what you want to major on after you graduate and an AP course is offered that would benefit your major you should consider taking that over taking a different AP that has no affect on your major.

Senior Maddie Matesich advises, “don’t stress about how many AP’s to take, and definitely keep your study hall. You’ll be so overwhelmed with college apps and will want the extra time. Pick classes you are genuinely interested in and have a workload that you can handle.”

Senior year can be very stressful. The work is almost doubled because of college applications. It is okay to take some college prep classes. Jumping to all honors and AP’s after three years of maybe just a few honors and the rest college prep can be a big mistake. Doing this could hurt your GPA, and that first semester GPA is what colleges receive if you are deferred.

After all the rush of applying for college is over, seniors sometimes lose their steam second semester, and start to regret the work from all those tough classes that keeps piling up. This is something that should be considered then picking courses.

Senior Olivia Kirkpatrick recommends, “don’t take more APs or honors courses than you think you can handle. Second semester senioritis is real and you will thank me for this later.”

The final piece of advice for you is to talk to your teachers, advisors, and parents. These are the people who know you the best academically and personally and will be able to tell you if they think you can handle the work.

Be excited for senior year. It goes by very quickly. Take time to stop, destress, and enjoy it.