It is the end of the semester, and you are so close to being done with your classes you can almost taste it. All that is left in your way is one little hurdle: exams. The word “exam” often brings up a connotation of stress and strain to most high school students across the country, and it can be especially daunting if your grade in on the line between finishing with a good grade or finishing with a bad one. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors all have different ways of coping with this anxiety-inducing time, and this year is no different.
The Freaked-Out Freshmen
While exams can be incredibly stressful for anyone in high school, it can completely overwhelm the inexperienced freshmen. For the first time in their lives, there are actual consequences for not passing exams. On top of that, freshmen also have to worry about their GPA, something they didn’t even think about in middle school. For Jack Biggs, a freshman, this is exactly the case. “I feel like I’m not getting prepared enough for these exams and that my entire grade depends of these exams. I am doing a lot of studying out of school in order to further prepare me, but I am still feeling really anxious because I don’t know what to expect,” said Biggs.
The Stressed Sophomore
The sophomore is like the middle child of the family — not the callow freshmen, but not the worldly seniors either. Their reaction of exams is often one of stress, as many of them are taking their first AP classes. “Exams are useless, and I don’t like them” said Colby Crenshaw, a sophomore.
The Jittery Junior
The typical junior is already stretched thin with SAT and ACT scores on the horizon, as well as AP exams to anticipate in May. Aside from that, many juniors also have to balance extracurricular activities and a job to boost their college resume. Taylor White, a junior, is also feeling the pressure of performing well. “I feel like exams this year are extremely stressful because I have to balance my SAT and ACT as well as my multiple AP classes, so I am already juggling a lot. When exams roll around, I feel stressed and overwhelmed,” said White. With college applications fast approaching, juniors have even more on their plate than any other students in high school.
The Stoic Senior
Senior exemptions: the holy grail of avoiding exams. For the seniors who pass all the requirements, it’s smooth sailing from here. Senior exemptions is the process that seniors can evade their exams all year, all they have to do is conform to several requirements. In order to qualify for exemptions, seniors must only have certain number of excused absences (relative to their grade in the class) and no excused absences.”but are unable to receive any unexcused absences or more than five tardies. Megan Perry is planning on utilizing these exemptions on some of her exams. So far, she still has all her exemptions, but exams are still causing stress for her.“ I freaking hate them…” said Perry via text.
Good luck to everyone taking their exams this semester!
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