Everyone knows that senior year is your most important. After going through the bumpy and irregular mess of junior year, you’re finally ready to go through your final year of high school. Everyone’s senior year is different, but they all come with the same conclusion, graduating and moving into the adult world permanently. This period, filled with the whirlwind of college applications, campus tours, senior events, graduations, and the emotional shift toward the conclusion of high school, presents both valuable opportunities and a bittersweet sense of entering adulthood.
As junior year comes to an end, it’s good to start focusing on what you want to do in the future. Starting to nail down where you see yourself after graduation is a good start on how you want to move through your senior year. This can be a confusing period, but remembering the excitement that senior year brings can help alleviate some of the concerns. N’Naya S. is enthusiastic about the variety of senior events on the horizon, including prom, graduation celebrations, and various end-of-year activities. They recognize the importance of maintaining a positive mindset, which helps them effectively tackle challenges. As you prepare for adulthood, setting and working towards your dreams will contribute to a healthy lifestyle, helping you navigate the transition into the world beyond high school.
During the summer, if you plan to go to college, it’s good to start filling out the Common App. The Common App is an online application platform used by over 1,000 colleges and universities around the world. It allows students to apply to multiple institutions with one application. It helps streamline the college application process by enabling students to complete their application once and submit it to multiple schools that are on the app. It’s also nice to look up if your college needs SAT scores, a certain GPA, and college essays. It’s also recommended by most counselors to look up and apply to a scholarship once a week during the summer, so starting your senior year, you’ll have at least 12 scholarships to pick and choose from.
But what if you’re a person who doesn’t want to go to college, doesn’t know exactly what to do, or you don’t want to spend too much money and go into debt in your adulthood, CCBC is a great place to look at. There are multiple programs within CCBC that are not only cheaper than the traditional 4-year college route, but also give you a chance to find something that you enjoy without too many consequences.
Instead of fearing failure when faced with obstacles, the students at Kenwood embrace these moments as essential parts of their journey, which strengthens their determination to adapt and move forward. Logan G. shared his excitement about the transition into adulthood that comes with being a senior. He believes this year will provide him with valuable experiences and opportunities for growth.
There are also opportunities like trade school that offer many opportunities. Trade schools tend to offer a more practical, affordable, and time-efficient alternative to traditional college education. It’s good to see what best interests and benefits you. For people who don’t want to go to college or a trade school at all and want to go right into the workforce, it’s important that you start exploring your options during the summer as well. See what jobs will hire recently graduated students and what the salary will look like in the long-run of this job choice. A primary goal for these students is to obtain their high school diploma, as it is a crucial milestone that opens doors to future opportunities.
This all may seem overwhelming, and it is. As we grow up, the reality is that things will not come easier, especially not senior year. If we start to do these important things during the summer, the transition to senior year will be easier and less stressful. It’s essential to approach this year with a positive mindset, confidence, and focusing on your goals and aspirations. Tracy Kramer, one of Kenwood’s guidance counselors, says it best, “The more you work on in the summer, the better you’ll be in the fall.”
