While most students see the first month of school as a total breeze, the complete opposite is true for seniors. Seniors do not get to enjoy the “school just started” relaxation that every other class gets to relish in; this is because of the fact that they have to juggle college applications along with their daily doses of homework (no matter how easy the homework is). Most people would say “Hey! Most college applications were available in August, why didn’t you complete them over summer break?” Here are two answers to that question: for one, students want to enjoy the little free time they have over the summer, as they’ve been accustomed to every previous summer of their life; and two, you have to request letters of recommendation (and teachers are just as busy!), you have to request transcripts, and discuss college information with counselors. Both of those require that you work on your pursuit of college admissions during the school year. All things considered, applying for college is already a stressful process, from: taking standardized tests that dictate your future, doubting your intellect, writing countless essays, filling out pages and pages of personal information, revisiting your grades of previous years, applying for scholarships, examining your financial aid offers, and deciding which colleges you actually see yourself thriving in. Although the school year has just begun, I have personally consoled two seniors that I found in tears because of the overwhelming stress of these responsibilities that were suddenly thrown at them. These occurrences made me consider how my fellow seniors felt about the overall stress of juggling school and the college application process. I interviewed two people that I know very well, Eve Taylor and Semaja Frazier; and not because I’m shy and can’t gather the courage to talk to someone I don’t know well, it was because I know these two well enough to where they can comfortably share their genuine, personal feelings about how their year is going. Upon interviewing Eve Taylor, she explained to me that using a planner helped her tremendously in organizing her school work as well as her college deadlines. She also feels that her friends are very crucial in keeping her on track and motivated through the college process. She believes that having friends with similar goals and work ethics would help keep anyone on track and motivated! Upon interviewing Semaja Frazier she informed me that writing everything down such as deadlines in her calendar and crossing them off when complete makes her feel accomplished and negates some of the stress. She told me how she started her applications early because of a program called Chicago Scholars that helped keep her on track. As far as stress goes Semaja recommends meditation before sleep to clear your head of all the stress in your life.