Of all the time spent in school, there are four years where education matters most: High school. Each year in high school has its challenges.
I think sophomore year is the hardest so far, but I’ve only been through freshman year and about a fourth of sophomore year. There is a general consensus that sophomore and junior year are hard, with many agreeing that junior year is the hardest.
Sophomore year is definitely a close second because students have to start thinking about college and their career path. It also poses harder academic challenges, opening up opportunities to take AP and more DC classes.
“The hardest part of sophomore year is the PSATs, other than that the school work was easy,” said Evan Allen, a junior, regarding his sophomore year.
The reason junior year is the hardest is because of the college prep, academic pressure and the SAT/ACT tests that one has to take. Although both years require extra effort in order to study and keep grades up, they open lots of doors regarding college and career paths.
“Academically it’s not bad. It’s the year that they pick at you about college the most,” said Violet Butterfield, regarding her junior year.
Though none of the students have finished high school, they have enough experience in their respective years to weigh in on this topic.
Junior and sophomore year might be the hardest, but that does not make freshman and senior year easy. Freshman year brings both academic and social pressure. When starting as a freshman, it is important to get good grades in order to set a good precedent for the rest of high school.
“School wasn’t actually hard, it was just challenging getting adjusted to a new school,” said Nolan Knight, a sophomore, regarding his freshman year.
Senior year also brings unique challenges. One has to fulfill their diploma requirements, and keep up good behavior in order to walk at graduation. Also, students have to decide what they want to do next. Commonly, graduates go to college, which poses its own challenges. For example, here at Mt. Vernon, 78% of the class of 2025 went on to college. This includes both 2 year, and 4 year colleges.
“Other than CCMA, my other two classes are easy,” said Butterfield, regarding her senior year so far.
Ultimately, junior and sophomore year are the hardest. But that does not undermine the struggle of freshman and senior year. Every year of high school has its own challenges, which will vary person to person.