Just left junior year of high school? Going into senior year and don’t know what to expect? Here are 10 tips for seniors in high school!
You’ve officially made it through the hardest year of high school. Plus, you’ve probably established your social circle already.
Many changes come with being a senior. Luckily, most of those changes are actually positives.
Keep your head high and senior year will be a breeze!
Let’s dive in…
What’s the Biggest Difference Between Junior Year and Senior Year of High School?
Senior year of high school is considered much easier compared to junior year.
You usually have less homework, better classes, and only have college applications to worry about.
Most seniors put their efforts into other things such as extracurriculars, jobs, and hanging out with friends while they still can.
It’s your last year of high school and the memories will disappear in the blink of an eye. Make your senior year worth it!
Your second semester will be the easiest few months you’ve had in a long time. Especially if you’re no longer taking AP classes or have a full schedule.
Tips for Seniors in High School
Take a look at these 10 tips that will help you adapt more easily into senior year of high school…
1) Join More Clubs
If you have a passion for anything, chances are that other students have a similar passion.
There’s no club related to your interest? Start one yourself.
If there are already clubs out there that interest you, sign up for as many that can fit into your schedule.
Most clubs have meetings during lunch, which is an easy way to kill time, make new friends, and add more hobbies to your college application!
Don’t join clubs just to join them. If you don’t care about them, it’ll be hard to honestly add them to your application.
Related Post: How to Make More Friends In High School
2) Prepare for Common Apps
Preparing for common apps is one of the best tips for seniors in high school!
The more educated you are about this topic, the easier it will be to ultimately get into a good college.
Here are a few things you should learn before applying:
- How they work
- What you’ll need
- How much they cost
- How to get scholarships
- When you need to make a decision
Everybody has different circumstances for applying, which is why there isn’t a direct answer for each of these questions.
The Common App is one of the most popular resources for college applications. They provide a ton of information on how everything works!
Gather all your knowledge and resources and get ready to apply in the fall semester.
3) Put More Focus Into A Job
If you don’t have a job yet, get one! Senior year will likely offer you a bit more time to finally start working.
If you’re already working, see if you can increase your hours, get a second job, or start doing some entrepreneurial work.
This is an excellent year to start working on your independence, especially before going to college.
Slack off now and you’ll want to slack off throughout college too. The earlier you build hard working habits, the better off you’ll be in the long run!
4) Consider Community College
A common misconception is that community college (CC) is bad for you or isn’t considered impressive to other people.
But here’s the truth…
Going to community college is one of the smartest choices you can make as you come out of high school. Here’s why:
- Classes are cheap/free
- Avoid paying rent
- More freedom to work on yourself
- Don’t have to take the SAT
- Stay near friends in your town
- Get used to college before the real headaches
- Most teens don’t know their major yet
- If your grades are bad you get a fresh start
There are so many benefits for students regardless of their academic success in high school.
Even if you have a 4.5 GPA, do 2 sports, and are a part of 100 clubs, you’re still going to save money for your first 2 years of college at the very least!
You don’t have to go to community college and then stop after 2 years either. If anything, it’s way easier to transfer to a 4-year university after CC.
Related Post: College vs No College (Stats + Pros and Cons)
5) Finish Your Volunteer Hours
Depending on where you live and what high school you go to, you might have volunteer hours to complete for school.
Make sure you finish up those hours before it’s too late. Some colleges really care about that stuff.
More importantly, volunteer for something you actually see yourself enjoying. Universities actually care more about why you volunteered and what you got out of it.
You can volunteer at places like summer camps, nursing homes, day cares, community centers, animal shelters, and more.
6) Create More Memories With Friends
Nobody wants to peak in high school, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the most of it!
This is one of the more important tips for seniors in high school. Those memories will last forever.
It’s your last year, you have less intensive classes, and everyone around you might be going to other colleges.
Hit up your friends, hang out often, and capture those moments too!
Your phone is always on you anyways. Use it wisely 😉.
7) Mentally Prepare for College
It’s coming right around the corner and you might not know how everything works.
If you’re set on a specific college, take a virtual tour of the campus (or an in-person one if you can).
Get familiar with what classrooms look like, what professors will expect of you, and everything else a college has to offer.
Gather your college dorm essentials, think about how you want to decorate your dorm room, and build a list of items you need early on.
It never hurts to be extra prepared for when the time comes. Plus, it’s fun to get things ready and build anticipation for the change ahead of you!
8) Master Time Management
If you can’t manage your time consistently now, it’ll be hard to do it once you’re in the midst of college stress.
Work on organizing your life a bit better and master the art of studying efficiently.
There are a ton of time management tips for students to utilize. even in high school. Learn them now before you start regretting it!
At the very least, have a schedule where you can plan out your day and categorize what you need to get done in a timely manner.
9) Stay in Contact with Friends
This is more of a tip for after senior year, but it applies now (before you leave).
Make sure you have everyone’s number, even from people that you’ve randomly waved to in the hallway for the last 4 years.
Those contacts can be extremely valuable after high school, especially if you’re going somewhere far from home.
Either way, those contacts could end up going to the same college as you, live in a similar area, or end up becoming your closest friends.
Text people on their birthdays or just ask how they’re doing once in a while. They’ll appreciate the gesture and will likely try and do the same for you.
10) Have Fun
Look… senior year is important, but senioritis is a thing for a reason. People start to have fun knowing that their applications are already in and grades aren’t as important anymore.
This doesn’t mean you should just get F’s in every class.
It means that you shouldn’t be afraid to hang out with friends any time after school.
Start learning things on your own and make your own experiences. One day, you’re going to look back and realize how much more you could’ve done while you were there.
So, enjoy your last year! Good luck on your college apps 😁.
Hopefully these 10 tips for seniors in high school helped you get more prepared for your last year.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions leave them down below. Thanks for reading!
