By Lilly Buist / Editor in chief
Everyone knows how much a student’s life changes once they complete their senior year and graduate from high school—it’s practically all anyone talks about in April and May. What people don’t talk about is how much changes for students as they transition from junior to senior year.
By senior year, many students involved in sports and extracurriculars find themselves in positions of leadership. This provides a positive experience, but also adds extra responsibility to these students’ lives. But, seniors are also regularly reminded that this is the last year before they start their brand new life, so they are often told they should spend time with their friends.
Yet, for students attending college, their new life actually depends on the quality of their college and scholarship applications—another responsibility students are never prepared for.
The college search happens naturally for most students throughout high school, with a heavier focus during junior year. However, by the time students fall into the rhythm of their schedule and become truly comfortable with balancing schoolwork and extracurriculars, they are given extra responsibilities that could change the trajectory of their life, and they’re not always sure how to handle it.
As freshmen, students take the College and Careers class, which is meant to prepare students to make future decisions that fit their interests. However, I believe that this one-semester class should instead be reserved for seniors to learn how to narrow down their college interests, apply for colleges, and apply for scholarships.
Students not interested in attending college could explore steps they need to take during and immediately after high school to pursue the career they are interested in.
While some state requirements of the College and Careers class tend to be more basic topics that logically fit in freshmen curriculum—determining learning styles, evaluating different careers and universities, and understanding the high school graduation requirements—the more complex topics should be saved for seniors attempting to make a true plan for the rest of their lives.
This class could be led by the same teachers who currently teach College and Careers, or it could be led by school counselors, who are trained in helping students make important decisions in their lives.
Curriculum for college-bound students could include writing an effective personal statement essay, making a final decision on what college to attend, how to find scholarships the individual student would qualify for, how to prioritize different scholarships, and even how to fill out the FAFSA.
If this class were to be moved to senior year, NPHS administrators could talk with students pursuing a future that is not college-bound in order to find what curriculum would be best for them. Since I plan to attend college in the fall, I will focus on what this class should look like for other college-bound students.
As a freshman, I didn’t know my interests well enough to know what I wanted to do in the future. Now, as a senior taking AP Statistics, I believe I may have an interest in pursuing a mathematics degree.
Additionally, I had only ever envisioned myself going to a large university. However, as an upperclassman, I learned that I would prefer a smaller college environment, and I plan to attend a college with an enrollment of about 1,600.
In my freshman year College and Careers class, I was encouraged to find a school that had the best program for my ideal major. I was interested in becoming a writer, so I was told to research schools with English programs. This led me to research schools primarily on the east coast.
Simply put, I (logically) didn’t know myself at 13 years old the same way I know myself at 17 years old. I needed the four years of high school to learn about myself before I really started to do this research.
Additionally, as editor-in-chief of the newspaper, lead drum major in the marching band, and a member of leadership in many other clubs and activities, I sincerely struggled to find the extra time as a senior this year to write essays for college applications and scholarships.
If I had been required to take a College and Careers class as a senior, I would have hopefully had some assistance in making some of the most important decisions in my current life.
Additionally, I would have had a set amount of time every day to work on applications, instead of being left to figure it all out for myself. In fact, this class may have helped me learn how to better prioritize my work during the school year.
Moving the College and Careers class from freshman to senior year would make the class significantly more relevant for students, encouraging them to focus on taking important steps toward their future during a year when their future is most clear and in front of them. It would be significantly more beneficial than encouraging seniors to take an extra study hall.
