By Sruja Peruka
Trendsetter Team
Senior year can be a bittersweet time for some; thinking about saying goodbye to a chapter in your life isn’t always easy—last year with your team, teachers, and friends, and walking in the same halls.
Besides the emotions of it all, there are many things to look forward to! Before the year starts, there are a few things I thought were essential to remember before my senior year that could be helpful to incoming seniors!
Keep your head in the game:
Although it’s the last year before college, it’s imperative to keep your grades up and make deadlines before you even think of graduating. (At least prove that the first semester shows you were paying attention.)
On the other hand, scholarships and College App essays also require you to keep up with your work, typically requiring you to apply during the summer and school.
I suggest making a calendar to keep track of specific deadlines and going the extra mile to make a chart to organize essay topics you could write about, the essay deadlines, and which colleges accept them. It’ll save you time and be more efficient!
- Make Friends (Connections):
You’ve technically been making connections since you started high school. The friends you’ve made and the teachers you got close with could benefit your future. There might be that moment when you need a job or a favor from someone from your past.
That’s when your past comes in handy, so keep in touch with them. For more relevancy, you’ll need a good recommendation letter when applying to colleges; your best bet will be extra friendly to your teachers this last year. But just as a reminder, the earlier you ask for that rec letter, the more thought out it will be. - Rejection
We’ve all been there at some point in our lives when we have gotten rejected. Maybe you didn’t get on the soccer team or didn’t get that job. A great life lesson I’ve held onto is that rejection is a sign that you tried! That is important to remember when you start getting college letters back. Remind yourself that colleges can be highly selective, so there might be a chance you don’t get in, but that does not reflect your hard work or self-worth. - Find a Balance:
You survived four years of high school… that should be worth celebrating! If you can, go to that football game, go to the dance, start that club, ask them out. Whatever you’ve been holding off on, it might be your last chance to do it.
No matter how you feel about your senior year, be prepared, locked in, and most importantly, have fun!
Sruja Peruka is a Scripps Howard Foundation Emerging Journalists Intern with Texas Metro News through the University of North Texas.
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