Congratulations! You have finally made it to your senior year of high school. It’s time to kick back, relax and enjoy, right?
False. Don’t get us wrong, senior year is meant to be fun — with parties, picnics, class bonding and dreaming about the future. But it’s not the time to take your foot off the gas pedal. Here are a few reasons why you need to finish strong.
Colleges look at all of your grades.
Initially, colleges won’t have access to your grades for the last few months of your senior year. However, they do require a final transcript which allows them to see whether you finished your high school career strong, or if you slacked off and became careless. Even if you were accepted due to your first semester grades, if the school finds your final transcript unsatisfactory, they reserve the right to revoke your acceptance. So if you are banking on keeping your acceptances, it’s imperative that you keep up the hard work through the end of the year!
There is more school ahead.
As you go through senior year, it can feel like everything is coming to a close. You have your last homecoming, last basketball game, last class with your favorite teacher, etc. Amidst all of these lasts, it’s easy to lose sight of all the firsts that are about to come. While your opening year of college does come with a lot of firsts, one thing that will be consistent through both high school and college is coursework. College classes will likely be more challenging than your high school courses, so it’s essential that you maintain good study habits during your senior year in order for these habits to continue as you matriculate. If you become lazy when it comes to your schoolwork now, it will be infinitely harder to ramp back up in the fall. A good work ethic is a skill that has to be built up — you can’t prepare to run a marathon overnight, and you won’t be able to work harder instantly once you start college. Make it easier on yourself and keep up the hard work.
Senior year coursework is really important.
As tempting as it is to let down your sails in the final months of high school, the work you put in now will bear fruit come the fall. If you work hard to finish out your high school career strong, the first semester of college will be a lot less stressful and a lot more fun. Like it or not, you most likely will end up taking general education classes that are very similar to high school courses in areas like biology, calculus, history and more. Taking the time to learn the material now can allow you to have a few lighter classes in your first semester of college. Or, if you want to try and bypass these classes altogether, taking AP classes is a great way to get ahead. Having credits as you go into college can help relieve some of the stress of having to take on a heavy course load or repeat a similar class you took in high school.
Overall, putting in the effort during senior year will only help you get ready for the challenges, joys and adventures that you will find during the next phase of your life. Finish strong!
