Last year, Sean Hart, then a senior at American High School in Miami, established rules for himself to make sure his busy schedule didn t get out of hand. I got all my priorities straight in my head. First school, then family, then work. Friends came later, Hart said. My friends would always say let s go do this or that, but I made sure I had the most important things accomplished first.
Twelfth grade can be especially hectic.
In the fall, deadlines for college applications mean studying for the big tests and writing entrance essays. Hart s advice is to do some of the work, like applications and tests, as early as possible. I made sure I was set by the end of my junior year, he said. While everyone else was doing their college research and worrying about taking the tests, I had fewer things to think about. Knowing that he had been accepted to the University of Florida, Hart could concentrate on keeping up his grades and playing center on the football team.