As college or university looms ahead for Manogue Seniors, many students are finding it difficult to balance their academic workload and the demanding college application process.

The months of September and October become a very stressful time for a majority of students who are hoping to have their applications in by November 1st for early action or early decision. The essays, as well as the personal statement are no small tasks and many students have been working around the clock to get their work to its top quality. The process of drafting, editing, and revising is daunting and it can get exhausting very quickly. However, the AP heavy course loads taken by seniors aren’t very considerate of the importance or challenge of college application, with numerous hours of homework time being dedicated to these classes.

This creates a deadly cycle; students are so focused on keeping up with their homework that they lose time to work on their college essays/applications. To make up for this, they work on their college essays/applications in class and in turn, don’t pay attention to the lectures. Their homework takes longer because they missed important information during class, and thus the cycle continues.

At this time, senior students’ number one priority isn’t their assignments, but successfully getting into college. Which unfortunately often comes at the cost of their grades and learning. Many students believe that issuing a lighter workload or having longer periods to finish classwork for the months of September and October would help to alleviate the problems universally faced by prospective college students.