When I got to high school, almost everyone told me that senior year was going to be a breeze. The common belief is that senior year work is limited and doesn’t matter.

Unfortunately, that isn’t true. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Juniors may have SATs and ACTs and PSATs to worry about, but senior year is by far the most difficult year in high school. It isn’t about relaxing and having fun. Instead, senior year includes spending every waking moment working on college applications and focusing on keeping grades up.

As mentioned above, the biggest reason for the extra stress and workload is the college application process. Seniors have to research which colleges they want to apply to, figure out what they want to study and endless edit essays. With college application deadlines approaching quickly and homework building up, students are forced to choose between the two. While applications affect our futures, teachers and college admissions officers constantly emphasize the importance of senior year grades.

Now of course, this college work will end after about four months, but it is the longest four months any student will ever have. Even after the application process is over, the college talk never really stops. The conversation of the next few motnhs will revolve around regrets of the application process and dream schools. No one is guaranteed admission to any school, and people may second guess the quality of their applications as the admissions decisions grow closer.

Of course, second semester senior year must be a breeze, right? No, becuase while I won’t have to send college apps, I will have to wait patiently to find out which of my colleges accepted me. Then comes making the choice between possible colleges. That is an even harder process, because whatever choice is made will determine the fate of my next four years. There is no way to tell whether my choice is right or if I would’ve been better off choosing another option. The entire process is filled with second-guessing and it is the hardest choice most of us will make (in our immediate futures, anyway).

I don’t mean to say senior year is the worst time of your life; it is simply the biggest step into the real world, and quite overwhelming. The decisions made during this year will shape the rest of each senior’s life for better or for worse. And even if you get into your dream school, there is nothing saying that it is exactly as you anticipated. You could go to the best university on the entire planet and still end up unemployed or in a less-suitable career.

Senior year can be a wonderful year with friends and adventures, but all the fantasies people have of the realxed and easy nature of senior year are completely incorrect. So underclassmen, be prepared.