Every winter, students must look a year into the future as they choose their classes for the following school year. This process is especially important for current juniors, as they must determine their course loads for their final year in high school. There is a diverse range of considerations to make when choosing classes for senior year. 

Juniors should consider education beyond high school when in the process of choosing classes for next year. “I personally believe that senior year can be used as a head start in your pursuit of a particular goal in life. You have already gotten the basics down in your previous classes and you should take advantage of senior year as the first big step towards your goals,” junior Eric Jo said. 

This consideration for the future carries over when considering whether or not to take challenging courses in senior year. The rigor of a class is one of the most significant characteristics to consider when choosing a class schedule. Students may hope to relax their course loads in senior year after three years of challenging schoolwork. However, some believe choosing to take a harder class or not should be determined by a student’s plans for the future. “There is no reason to take a hard, meaningless class. However, if [a hard] class is related to your dream and is giving you a hard time, think about it as a test of your resolve and determination. This will help you get through challenging classes and help you in the long term,” Jo said. 

Another factor to consider when choosing classes is workload. Senior year can be a busy time, as  students are working on writing a multitude of essays to apply to college. “My biggest tip [to juniors] is making sure that you can balance your applications and classes because writing essays takes a while and you don’t want to stress yourself out,” senior Janani Ilangovan said. 

Students in their senior year are likely to participate in a variety of clubs and activities. It is important to keep this in mind when considering whether or not to take a class that is known to involve an extensive amount of homework. “Senior year can be a busy time, as students are likely to be applying to different colleges, as well as balancing clubs and leadership roles, so taking into account how much time out of school you will have is important when choosing classes,” junior Joanne Song said.