Next up in line is junior year, highly thought of as the ‘most stressful’ year in high school, but do those rumors stack up? I asked Adhvika Kannan, a junior in Canada, about her experience from transitioning back to campus life, to advice about colleges. She brings some light on ideas of just enjoying high school and focusing yourself on classes that you really enjoy, not because they look good on applications.
Schools are returning back to in-person, yet it is still “very different because you have to follow certain restrictions”. She talks about how certain exits are closed to minimize traffic between classes, lockers have been closed, and hand sanitizer is everywhere. “It was definitely a bit different because due to covid my school laid out subjects and our normal schedule differently so they could accommodate us during the pandemic”. With masks greatly enforced and social distancing as much as they can, Adhvika believes that there isn’t much else the schools could do. “I think they have done a really good job with handling the pandemic, there have been a couple of cases at my school but it hasn’t been because of the school. It was from outside contact”.
During sophomore year, Adhvika talks about “civics and careers”, a mandatory class in the 10th grade. “In the careers portion, one of the projects was to look at the 3 main careers that you want to go into, and look at the different university programs that are helpful for that career”. Interested in law, she had to take prerequisite classes to fit her schedule, as well as other electives. “I mostly chose the one that I was interested in, no one wants to do hours of work and hours of studying and research into a course they are not interested in”, recommending to go for classes you have a personal interest in.
Year 11 is also one for college and university hunting. Lots of research and applications are sent out, and Adhvika has some great advice about colleges. “Just because it is a high standard, say like the Ivy Leagues, I say don’t go for that just because it is the Ivy Leagues, go for it because you actually want to go there, and you know that the program will benefit you”. Going back to what she previously said, no one wants to spend hours of their time on something they are not passionate about, just to have a high title on their name.
Lastly, she recommends freshmen and sophomores to “just have fun”. Senior and junior years are the most stressful ones, taking the time to enjoy the school year would be best. Taking up clubs and sports is also recommended, with the theme being “If you are interested, then you should go for it”.
Sources:
Interview with Adhvika Kannan
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