How I’ve Managed Senior Year of High School (so far) During COVID and How You Can Too.
By: Logan Khan
Tags: High School, Covid 19, Education, High School Life, Coronavirus

Senior Year, traditionally, is seen as not only the last year of high school, but a transitional period for every student between the simplicities of grade school and the challenges of entering college life. As the year comes to a close for every Senior, comes testing, and fun events that create cherished memories.

Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash

Well it’s 2020, and that clearly isn’t the case for the Class of 2021, which includes myself.

So far, my Senior Year has been challenging as it probably has been for every other Senior in the US. With online schooling becoming the new norm across the nation, it just adds another obstacle that every High School Senior is inevitably going to face along with college applications, sports (maybe), employment, AP Courses, a safe social life, “senioritis,” and of course, coronavirus. Feeling overwhelmed is normal with all these factors that cause everyone so much stress. I’ve heard the question “How am I supposed to handle all of this?” numerous times, and I’m going to give my best advice that has helped me which in turn may help you.

A lot of the factors of stress I mentioned, I can relate to. I am a Senior, obviously, but I am also employed, I do take AP Courses, and am in the middle of the college application process. My sleep schedule does vary daily depending on where I attend school albeit on campus or in the comfort of my room. From what I’ve gathered when combining all these factors of stress is these tips I can pass on to you!

Study Intensively, Not Excessively

What I mean by this is that you should study the areas that you feel the least confident in no matter the class. It’s better to push off what you know best to the side and really focus on what’s cloudy for you so that when it comes to being assessed, everything you know is on the same playing field. This also comes in handy when balancing time consuming matters such as work. The more you study on the difficult areas with limited time, the more confident you’ll feel knowing that the limited time you have has been put to good use. Which brings me to my next tip…

Photo by Elijah Hail on Unsplash

2. Manage Your Time Efficiently

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When it comes to being any sort of student, time management is ESSENTIAL. Personally, the best way I find to manage my time is to write everything out in the form of a checklist, whether on paper or digitally, and organize the tasks from the checklist by which task goes with which class. Everyone has their own preference, but I’ve told some of my friends how I manage my time, and it seems to be preferred by them as well. On days that I have work, I’ll usually shorten my list to the absolute minimum I should have complete by the end of the day, and expand my list on days I don’t work.

3. Don’t Procrastinate

This one should be obvious, but it’s still a struggle that I even find myself battling sometimes. Procrastination isn’t the key to success, pandemic or not, it’s a setup for failure down the line. The earlier you break this habit, the better off to success you’ll be. College Application deadlines are around the corner, and the sooner you turn them in, the more weight lifted off your shoulders (and don’t forget to file your FAFSA).

4. Stay Engaged When Learning from Home

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

A lot of us are learning from home right now, and it’s definitely a center for distractions. Even when we’re home, school is still happening, and that’s how it’s going to be, at least this school year. Being at home and attending school via Zoom, isn’t ideal, but it’s what’s best for the time being. Phones should be out of sight, doors closed, and the TV off. I’ve found myself on my phone during online class a little too much and what I do now, is put it in a drawer that’s far from my camera view so that the teachers see I’m there and not doing anything else other than what’s happening in class.

I hope these four tips of advice help you as effectively as they’ve helped me. This school year has been eventful, to say the least, and we just got to make the most out of it. These tips have taken me a few months to fully adapt to, and ever since, have been effective. Combining everything a Senior typically goes through and everything else from this year has been a challenge, but hopefully my pieces of advice come through to help you have a great Senior Year.