Credit: Chloe Zilembo

WSPN’s Chloe Zilembo shares her thoughts on the difficulty of her junior year of high school.

Many people have told me that junior year would be the hardest year of high school. I didn’t believe them at first, but looking back now as a second semester junior, I should’ve listened to them. Junior year sucks. There is no sugar coating it. It’s just the truth.

Junior year brings newfound freedoms like off campus privileges, free periods and access to a wider variety of classes. These opportunities however, don’t stop you from having a vigorous amount of work that drains you both mentally and physically.

When I was a freshmen and a sophomore, the upperclassmen would tell me, “If you think you’re having a hard time now, wait until you get to your junior year.” I always thought that the upperclassmen were just trying to scare me, but boy, was I wrong. The jump from sophomore year to junior year, particularly academically, was one that I was not prepared for.

Sophomore year and junior year are vastly different in numerous ways. During sophomore year, there is no immediate need to worry about college. You just have to get through the school year and worry about the future later. Then, all of a sudden in junior year, you are catapulted into a life filled with people asking you about college and what your future plans are. Every decision you make is directed towards college and post-secondary education.

Students’ performance during their junior year is often what colleges look at when reviewing a student’s application. This is because it is the last full year of school they have had by the time they’re applying to schools. Because of this, students may feel pressured to get exemplary grades and maintain a high grade point average (GPA), a number that is supposed to represent how you are performing in your classes. I know I have.

Junior year is also a year where some students may choose to take harder classes at either the honors or Advanced Placement (AP) level. The combination of difficult classes with the expectation to keep good grades is a disaster waiting to happen. It also doesn’t help that Wayland High School does not have a weighted GPA, so I sometimes feel as though I am taking hard classes for nothing.

On top of the pressure from their classes, juniors may begin to study for and take standardized tests. Although many colleges have gone test optional due to COVID-19, some are going back to requiring SAT and ACT scores. Some students, including myself, weren’t planning on focusing on standardized tests and instead focusing on getting a high GPA. Now our focuses potentially have to shift back over to scoring high on standardized testing. It just adds on to my never ending list of things to think about.

A warning to all sophomores: be prepared for junior year. Upperclassmen are warning you, not intimidating you. I recommend that all sophomores mentally prepare themselves and make sure that they are ready for the rigorous academics of junior year. Also make sure to pay attention in all your classes and work hard to make the transition easier. I wish you good luck.