While seniors at WJ are finally finishing up the draining and time consuming college process, juniors are just getting started. The first step that begins the new whirlwind of life changes is taking the SAT or ACT.

With the college process officially in motion, juniors have to step up their game to meet these new challenges. Yes, it can be stressful, but taking a step back and planning ahead will help immensely through the next year.

“I would say just do your best, don’t worry if the score isn’t perfect, colleges don’t just care about your scores, they care about the whole package. Go into the test with the intent to do your best,” junior Emi Teitelbaum said.  

Receiving one’s dream SAT or ACT score is difficult, and working to achieve a score that’ll impress colleges can add a bunch of unwanted stress to a student’s life. But every single year high school juniors must go through this critical transition period.

Choosing between the SAT and ACT is a weighty decision the class of 2019 will have to make. The two serve the same purpose, but there are little details that differentiate them from each other and allow the student to thrive at whichever test they take.

The College Board gives students a variety of dates for taking their standardized test, allowing the student to decide when they want to take it which gives an ample amount of time to prepare on their own time.

Junior Stephanie Miljanic took the ACT earlier which allowed her to get her score earlier so she can prepare for the next time she takes it.

“Taking it in September definitely benefited me because I studied for it over the summer and it didn’t interfere with me taking my AP classes,” Miljanic said.

This year WJ is offering an SAT and ACT voucher for juniors, so they will be able to take one of the tests for free.

“[Montgomery County] decided to do this to equal the playing field and make sure all kids have access, and that’s why it was important that we offer this voucher. It’s the first time we’re doing it we’ll see how it goes,” Assistant Principal and 11th grade administrator Janan Slough said on the subject.

All of the talk about the upcoming tests may be overwhelming, but pacing and keeping a steady mindset will help in achieving the score suitable for the student. Of course staying on track with the courses each student has is already difficult enough, but the juniors have been warned many times that this year will be the most important. It’s the last year that colleges get to see all of the hard work they put in and hopefully it will all pay off.