Junior year is notorious for the stress it inflicts on high school students. As a result, many incoming juniors approach it with fear, fully expecting to be buried by schoolwork and extracurriculars to the point of no return. However, this year—while certainly important—doesn’t need to be filled with premature assumptions and unnecessary anxiety. Sonia Pillai, ‘24, discusses her own experience during her junior year, and how she was able to manage the classic junior struggles. 

Pillai kept it frank with incoming juniors, choosing the three words “stress, fun, and stress” to summarize the past year. 

“Junior year was rough. I’ve never been so overwhelmed in my life,” she continued, “I had a lot of activities my junior year on top of my rigorous course load meaning that I didn’t have a lot of time for myself. It seemed that I went to school, went to my activities, did my homework, and went to bed.” 

Pillai described an especially unpleasant experience involving poor management of exams and schoolwork. In May, she decided to take the SAT and ACT in the same week, all while studying for her upcoming AP exams. 

While making clear that such stress is to be expected, Pillai assured incoming juniors of the more important thing—that there are always ways to manage it. From completely avoidable situations like these, she learned to value organization above all to manage the busy academics of junior year. 

“To-do lists were my best friend. When I was super stressed out, it seemed like I had a never ending list of things that I had to get done. Organizing these into a list made the tasks seem achievable, in turn greatly lowering my stress levels,” she explained. 

She also emphasized the importance of getting a good night’s sleep, despite it seeming cliche. 

Finally, she recommended, “Instead of cramming for a test, just go to bed. Also, keep your priorities straight. Big tests such as the SAT and ACT are much more important to study for than your Bio test.” 

Her advice keeps in perspective the equal importance of well-being and academic success.