How to Start Senior Year Off Right

How to Start Senior Year Off Right

You’ve made it! This is your last year of high school and all the goals you’ve been working toward are right in front of you.Hopefully you made the most of your summer with an enriching experience that advanced your knowledge and skills in an area of passion. And, hopefully, you have also been building a strong yet balanced list of colleges and begun thinking about how you’ll approach those applications.Beginning this school year on the right foot will set you up to achieve your best possible results in the admissions process. This is true whether you are the kind of student who is accustomed to earning top grades and thriving in your extracurricular activities, or you are working on establishing a positive trend as you finish high school.Admissions officers will base a lot of their opinion on your college readiness and fit for their institutions on how you’re performing closest to when you apply.Even though there may be a lot on your plate, the good news is that you can handle it! You can make senior year your best yet. Below are a few tips that will help you on that journey.

Map Out Your Schedule

Staying organized is the key to meeting all your responsibilities and exceeding expectations. And this year there will be a lot of added responsibility for you to handle. Between the work you have to do for class, college applications, your extracurricular activities, a job or sport, and your family obligations, you’ll want to make a plan for success.Take a big picture view of each week or month and write down all the things that absolutely must happen by a certain date. Backward planning is a great strategy for setting goals and creating deadlines to accomplish long-term tasks.By being proactive with your schedule, you can use your time most effectively and avoid burnout.

Make a Standing Appointment with Your College Counselor

Your college counselor should be an ally in your process. If you attend a school where you have access to him or her, take advantage of it. This is one of the people who will write a letter of recommendation for you; the better your relationship is with your counselor, the easier it is for her to advocate on your behalf.  Not every student will be able to make regular appointments with his or her college counselor because of school size or the counselor’s availability. It is still worthwhile to make the effort to help your counselor get to know you.One surefire way to help them help you is by sending them a thoughtful thank you note for writing your letter of recommendation that includes detailed examples of character traits you would appreciate they mention.Many seniors greatly benefit from working with an independent counselor who can spend as much time as necessary getting to know them and coaching them on telling their strongest stories. Independent counselors can also provide a roadmap to help you stay organized and remove much of the stress and confusion around the application process.  

Ask for Help as Soon as You Need It

There is much to be said for grit and independence, but do not needlessly struggle during senior year when there are resources available to help you. In all likelihood, you’re taking the most challenging courses you ever have and your level of responsibility in your activities is at an all-time high.It’s easy to feel like you’re juggling a lot of balls and, especially when you’re good at it, it can be difficult to ask for help keeping them all in the air. But before small issues become major problems, identify people who can help you stay on top:

• Visit your teacher during office hours to discuss the questions you answered incorrectly on the last exam. If your teacher doesn’t have office hours, email him or catch him after class to set up an appointment.
• Assign tasks to underclassmen in the club where you are president, so they gain experience and you learn how to delegate as a leader.
• Be proactive in talking to your lab partner about your available time as well as your skills, so you can work effectively as a team.
• Talk to your coach or boss about your college deadlines and current workload in case adjustments need to be made to your practice schedule or shift duties.

Focus on What Matters Most to You

You won’t be able to do it all, so you should focus on the activities and endeavors that bring you the most joy and build on the passions you’ve already established. The beginning of senior year is not the time to start a club because “it’ll look good” on your applications.If you find yourself running the risk of being overcommitted, take a step back and evaluate what matters most to you. You may need to let something go, at least temporarily, to allow yourself the best chance of succeeding in your remaining pursuits.It can be especially helpful to seek advice from a college consultant or admissions professional in deciding which of your activities to emphasize or put on the backburner. Likewise, you may need to sacrifice some of your free time while you focus on achieving your goals this semester.Try not to worry about what it is you might be missing and instead pour your energy into fully engaging in the activities and experiences you’ve self-identified as being meaningful.

Set Boundaries with Your Parents About College Talk

This is a tricky proposal, but it will help keep the stress levels in your house in check. Your parents are very invested in your success, and it’s important that you as a family have thoughtful conversations about how the college process is going.But don’t let applications become the main (or only, in some cases) point of conversation between you and your parents. Continue to build bonds with your family outside of the process and enjoy the time you have with them before transitioning to the next phase of your life.By being proactive and transparent with your family, you make it easier to set boundaries and limit when conversations about essays, teacher forms, and the like occur. Set up a regular check-in. And remember to treat each other with respect and courtesy.This is an emotional time for everyone involved, but the more you work as a team—which includes knowing when to unplug—the better off everyone will be.

Protect Your Physical and Mental Health

Make time to exercise, eat properly, and get enough sleep. Find an outlet that allows you to recharge your battery and relieve tension. It’s important that you guard your physical and mental health during senior year.Dealing with the uncertainty of your next educational step, trying to complete high school successfully, and navigating the rollercoaster of being a teenager are enough to cause anyone anxiety. Feeling burnout, confusion, and even depression is normal. Many students struggle at times in high school. But it doesn’t have to define your life or your senior year.You can create strategies to stay in good physical and emotional shape. Coming up with your plan before the semester gets underway will help your year get off on the right foot.

This is Your Year

Starting senior year strongly will position you to finish your high school career proud of everything you have accomplished and how you’ve grown along the way. We hope you have the best year yet!The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.Ready to get started? Schedule a complimentary 20-minute conversation today!Want to stay informed? Subscribe to our newsletter.See what others are saying about us