Senior Year Survival Tips (From Someone Who Just Survived It)
Having just completed my senior year, I know firsthand how overwhelming it can feel. Between keeping up with school, taking the next steps for your future, and juggling any additional extracurricular activities, it is a year that surely will flash by in a blur. With all of its moving parts, it is undoubtedly a phase of life that only seems more easily navigable in hindsight. To help alleviate some stress for the class of 2026, I will share some tips that helped me throughout my senior year.
Start your personal essay now!
One of the hardest parts of senior year is writing your personal essay for college applications. While most college applications aren’t due until later in the fall, beginning to work on your essay sooner rather than later is incredibly important. Even if you don’t feel confident, just write! Then, by allowing yourself plenty of time, you can have time to go back, re-read, reflect, and edit. The most important thing is to convey YOUR writer’s voice through your piece, and allowing yourself plenty of time to make changes will ensure that your voice is accentuated.
Also, remember that you are always going to be your harshest critic. So, in times of doubt, get a friend, parent, or teacher to read it over to give you some advice and encouragement.
Scholarships
While applying for scholarships may seem daunting on top of all the other demands of senior year, learning to sift through scholarships and reuse essays efficiently can be very helpful. Sign up for scholarship newsletters and create an account on scholarship sites right away. This will allow you to receive emails almost daily with a scholarship digest suggested for you. Two scholarship sites I found valuable were Fastweb and Going Merry.
Additionally, while applying for the big-name, no-essay scholarships is quick, you want to be sure that those aren’t all the scholarship steps you take. Applying to major-specific scholarships and scholarships awarded by local businesses can significantly increase your chances of being selected as the winner, as they are much less competitive.
Keep an agenda
Senior year is busy and not just with school. Trying to memorize your schedule just adds another dose of stress onto your plate, so I suggest using an agenda. You can easily write down classwork due dates, exam dates, sporting events, honor society meetings, and anything else you may be involved with. Writing it down on a calendar is especially helpful, as it allows for a visual representation of events that may overlap or weeks that will be busier than usual.
Make to-do lists
While this may not be for everyone, it helped me avoid distractions during times I had allotted for work. For example, if you know you have a study hall or an hour between school and sports practice, write down everything that you need to get done, in the order you need to do it. This avoids the temptation of reaching for your phone or talking to friends when you’re done with one task, as you can immediately see what needs to be done next. And of course, who doesn’t love the gratification of crossing tasks off your to-do list?
Finally, as my high school career comes to a close, so does my time writing for Neighbors of Chancellorsville. Having the opportunity to write under some incredible people as an intern has been a pleasure. It has truly granted me the ability to grow in my writing and communication skills—something for which I’ll forever be grateful.
