Nothing describes senior year like stress, fear and college acceptance letters. To help juniors, a handful of NC seniors share advice about what to expect.

“Stay focused in class and stay out of trouble outside of class. Senior year can be pretty easy as long as you do not get behind and focus on giving your all,” senior Deon Dodd said.

Seniors claim senioritis hits hard, fast, and becomes impossible to overcome. Remaining focused and remembering that GPA matters to colleges will delay and lessen the effects of senioritis.

“Take the SAT/ACT multiple times so that you can get your best score. You never know how high your score can be,” senior Miranda Oliveri said.

When looking at SAT/ACT scores, colleges take your best scores and add them together to make the official score, a process called “superscoring.” Taking the exams more than once and focusing on the individual sections increases the chance of receiving a higher score. After taking the SAT/ACT once, problem areas will become clear.

“Start planning where you want to apply for college early, so that when the time comes to apply you aren’t freaking out about getting it done. Trust me, procrastinating and waiting until last minute gets really stressful,” senior Lucy Clay said.

As a junior, start deciding what colleges and majors seem interesting. Some juniors completely forget or refuse to look at colleges or even start thinking about majors. This could become a huge setback for senior year and could elevate stress. Stay ahead of the game and decide on colleges early to avoid a large amount of stress.