by Maya Metser
Upon juggling SAT preparations, writing the junior thesis, and classes in general, juniors talk about their stress, how they deal with it, and share advice about how to manage time most efficiently.
Many juniors said they have books to study from for the SATs, including Mary Cugini.
“My main stress factor is the SATs. It’s hard, but I dedicate at least half an hour every night to practice. I have a book and two accounts online to help me,” she said.
Claudia Dedlia also agreed. “Getting a good grade on the SATs is my main stress factor. The way I’m dealing with it is I’m using my resources, and I have SAT books and a tutor from Princeton Review. My mom helps, too.”
Leah Moskowitz is worried about the SATs, as well as college.
“The most stressful things right now are the SATs because they’re really unpredictable. It’s really important to get a good score in order to get into the college I want,” she said.
For those bad test takers, Moskowitz advises having a tutor. “I’m really bad at test taking, so I have a tutor who helps me study and prepare for the test. I’m trying to prioritize my time.”
Daniel Munoz said, “The workload overall is so stressful. I’m working, driving, and taking a lot of AP classes for the first time. Sometimes I have to skip classes because I’m so stressed.”
He also added that writing the junior thesis was really hard. “I procrastinated more than I should have. I learned that you should spread out your time in order to get all the work you need to done.”
For Nico Strauss and Juweria Quadir, biology class is stressful.
“Biology class is my main stress factor right now. It’s a lot of work to put it really simply. There are a lot of concepts we learn in very little time,” said Strauss.
Quadir said, “Where do I start… Biology is stressful, and history, English, and Spanish.”
Strauss also said he wants to take the SATs the latest he possibly can this school year.
“I just try to stay calm all the time. I’ll probably freak out the day before the SATs,” he said.
“The junior thesis was the most stressful thing in the world,” said Quadir. “I procrastinated a lot, which was really, really dumb. We only had a week to get to our final. I think I did really poorly, but it feels good to get it over with. As for the SAT’s, I haven’t started the classes yet, but I’m planning to take the SATs in May or June. College is also really stressful.”
It can sometimes feel overwhelming to find the perfect SAT book because there are thousands out there, but don’t fret! Annmarie DePasquale has lots of advice.
“A lot of people have tutors and take classes, but you have to figure out how much preparation you need personally because every person taking the SATs has different needs,” she explained.
“Once you figure out how much work you have and as long as you have a plan, it’s helpful. Make sure you know when the sign-up deadline is because there is a 35 dollar fee if you sign up even one day after the deadline,” she advised.
DePasquale added, “The people that have taken them say, well, they say it’s really bad. Everyone comes out of the SATs like a zombie.”
Well, good luck with junior year…