As the 2016-2017 school year is coming to an end, seniors are preparing to start the next chapters of the lives as they enroll into colleges and universities. Senior year has been an stressful yet exciting year for many seniors, and some of them have advice for the incoming seniors about how they can make the most of their last year in high school.

Many seniors have different opinions on what to focus on during senior year, but all of them said one piece of advice.

“Start your scholarships and college apps early!” said Marisa Hardwick, ‘17. “You will probably have to do a lot of essays so getting a head start on them would make your workload during your senior year easier.” All of the students that were interviewed stressed the importance of starting early, with some saying that they regret not starting their college admissions process early enough.

“Make sure to start apply to schools early and apply to schools that you see yourself going to,” said Calice Robins, ‘17. Some seniors also advise incoming seniors to start finding inspiration for their college essays.

“Students should start a journal or diary so that they can start compiling random sources of inspiration for their essays,” said Margot Herman, ‘17. “Also, the Common App is currently available so they should start thinking about those essays. Also, start looking at examples that worked for the colleges that you want to be accepted to.”

Although senior year is full of college apps and dozens of scholarship applications, the seniors would like to remind the juniors to make the most of the senior year and still enjoy it when they can.

“Go to all of the sports activities!” says Calice Robins, ‘17. “Participate in all of the senior activities because this is your last year in high school.” Many seniors also recommend taking a day off of school to relax and de-stress as well. In the end, the seniors have a common message to the juniors: senior year, albeit challenging, is the most exciting year of high school, With efficient time management and prioritization, senior year can be relaxing even with the slew college applications that are to come, and you should enjoy every moment you have as a senior, as it is the last year in this chapter of your life.