Starting senior year brings with it mixed emotions concerning possible opportunities, new responsibilities or leadership roles, and concerns about the academic workload. Here’s your survival guide to navigate senior year and set yourself up for college success. 

• Practice time management. 

• • When juggling school work, social life, extracurriculars, and college applications, time management can help seniors feel less anxious because they are taking on tasks  individually.
  • It’s important to not keep everything in the head at once. Use a planner or create a schedule or routine to stay on time, out of trouble, and on top of important deadlines.

• Get college applications and essays  done and turned in ASAP.

• • If college essays have not been started, it is time to start! 
  • Double-check if  transcript requests are submitted,  scores have been sent out, and college essays have been written by their respective due dates. 
  • Don’t assume that all colleges have similar deadlines. Check and re-check! Some colleges have altered deadlines for special programs and options. 

• Build better habits now, to be independent in college later.

• • Try to get proper sleep because coming to school exhausted will not make the learning process easy. 
  • If the homework can get done early, go for it! Completing homework in advance provides room for any work that isn’t done or any sleep that’s needed.
  • Consider monitoring device usage or overall screen time while setting healthy boundaries.

• Enjoy Senior year.
  • Though seniors have work to do this year, they should also enjoy once-in-a-lifetime experiences with their peers, such as Prom, Senior Retreat, and countless other activities.
  • It’s important to create lasting memories with peers within the Good Counsel community.

     These four tips might seem simple, but when put together, they can make the burden of stress feel less heavy. Looking back, you will be glad you used your Senior Year Survival Guide.