As an underclassman attending Scituate High School, you are reminded when selecting courses that seniors get first priority and you shouldn’t expect to get all of the classes you sign up for. Imagine my surprise both freshmen and sophomore year when I got into every class I asked for. Now that I am a senior, older and wiser than previous years, I think I can give a little more insight into the phenomenon; seniors do not have room in their schedules for frilly electives as they are currently jam-packed with APs and other difficult courses.

As it turns out, that infamous saying about junior year being the hardest of the high school years is a myth. Senior year could certainly give it a run for its money.

Between senior privileges, being the big fish in the small pond, and knowing that this is the final year, there’s no denying senior year has its perks. That’s not to say that it is a walk in the park either. If anyone were to say that, they would probably be referring to a ten mile walk through a park with a constant 80% incline, full of hills and unclear paths, with a nice open field at the end.

Balancing the stress of ACTs, SATs, SAT IIs, APs, and a whole bunch of other acronyms referencing standardized tests, leaves almost no room for arguably the most important thing: college preparation. It cannot be a good thing when planning for college takes a back seat to trying to boost your GPA as much as possible with first semester grades of senior year. How is one expected to find time to write his or her college essay or register for Common-App while balancing such a hectic schedule? At least there’s the silver lining of being more likely to hold a position of power in an after school activity right…? I’ll choose to disregard the added pressures and responsibilities that come with that.