For most high school students, the hardest year of all is when they balance the stress of choosing a college and finding the perfect major, all while taking on the toughest classes and juggled deadlines for scholarship application and college applications. Both freshman and senior year can be incredibly challenging, but which is harder?
In this article, we explore the answer to this question.
1: The Challenges of Freshman Year
Making the transition from middle school to high school can be a stressful experience for students. On the first day of school, freshmen walk into a heavily populated building filled with unfamiliar people, none of whom they know. They also have to adjust to a rigorous curriculum and learn to navigate their new learning environment while also taking on the expectations of making new friends and discovering what they like.
On top of this, freshmen also have to deal with the physical and emotional changes that come with puberty and personal growth. For many teenagers, simply learning how to juggle a challenging course load and personal life can be a daunting task, especially since upperclassmen already have a good sense of what to expect and the best ways to succeed in a large and busy high school.
As a result, freshman year can be incredibly hard for many high schoolers. One way student can make freshmen year easier for themselves is to get ahead of their class by taking summer classes, organizing their study materials, and readying themselves for the challenging workload that comes with high school. By preparing beforehand, freshmen can make their transition easier and be better able to understand the expectations of each class and the way in which their courses are challenging them.
2: The Challenges of Senior Year
The stress of senior year is often cited as the worst time in a student’s high school career. For seniors, there is the intensity of balancing the perfect GPA, applying for college and writing their college essays, and the burden of knowing that this is the final year before adulthood and independence.
College acceptance letters and rejections will come in and that can add to the pressure of senior year. For seniors, the pressure to make sure all their college paperwork is up to date, finish up AP classes, and prepare for the SAT and other scholarship lines can be incredibly intense. Additionally, there is the added pressure to make the most of their final year of high school, by parting ways with friends and making new ones in their college communities.
All of this, while still maintaining their grades and staying on top of their course workload can be overwhelming to many. To make the process easier, seniors can take the proactive approach of reaching out to college admissions counselors and mentors to discuss their future plans and goals.
Researching available scholarships and attending university events or orientation can also help ease the transition.
3: Comparing Freshman and Senior Year
With the overwhelming workload and various expectations associated with both freshman and senior year, many wonder which year comes with the most intensity and difficulty for high schoolers. Although each student may have an individual answer, it is safe to say that both freshman and senior year come with their own unique difficulties.
Freshman year can be incredibly daunting, as students must learn the culture of their new school and how to handle their workload and studies in a much more rigour curriculum than before. However, seniors have their own unique stressors, typically involving the goals and plans for college and the higher-level courses required for graduation. As a result, for many students, both freshman and senior year can be incredibly hard and stressful.
At the end of the day, the answer to which year is the hardest comes down to individual student experience. Different people may have different feelings about and approaches to each year, with some finding freshman year is the most challenging and others believing that their senior year was the most difficult.
Conclusion
Whether it’s freshman or senior year, the years of high school can be some of the most challenging of a student’s life. Situations and students could be vastly different, and for some, freshman year may seem more difficult, while for others, their entire high school career may seem to be their toughest challenge.
Ultimately, each individual student and their experiences will determine whether freshman year or senior year is the hardest.