Since 7th grade, I was always warned that “junior year is the hardest.” Having known this information for so long, I prepared myself for a marathon of a year. Yet, I always had a sneaking suspicion that senior year had the potential to take the “hardest year” award. Now, after experiencing both junior and senior year, the question still stands: Which is harder, junior or senior year?

In my experience, 11th grade was undoubtedly the most academically grueling year of the two. However, I did that to myself. Creating a rigorous class schedule for myself, something many students can relate to, put me in a position of having an average of more than three assessments or assignments in one week (maybe more, it’s hard to remember through the fog). I enjoyed pushing myself and do not regret anything, but the people who warned me about my schedule were correct in that it would be challenging. With the addition of extracurricular activities, I found myself staying up to 12 or 1 a.m. every night and then often waking up at 6 a.m. to continue working before school. I worked hard to get the grades I wanted, but the hard work left me constantly tired. Yet, ironically, junior year was also one of the best years of my life. My peers and I got closer than ever and, socially, I enjoyed spending time with my friends outside of school.

Going into senior year, I was worried about adding college applications to another year of challenging academics. While starting my college applications felt daunting knowing I had dozens of essays to write, I was not nearly as stressed out during the fall of my senior year as I was during the spring of my junior year. Having taken such a challenging course load junior year, my senior courses seemed increasingly more manageable.

Overall, my schedule proved junior year harder than senior year. So, to the sophomore class, I wish you luck and motivation, and to the junior class, you are almost done with this year and I sincerely hope you have the same answer to this question as I do.