Im turning 17 in September and I just started to notice where I am heading. I am going to be a Junior this year and I was just thinking that I have to take the SAT, the ACT, HSPA, and PSAT. On top of that I have to look at colleges. It really makes me wonder where my early teens went. I think the best times I had were when I was 15 and 16. Now being almost 17 and driving, it just seems like time flew by. I really am not looking forward to being a Junior and I am worried, I feel like I am not going to have a life. I am getting tutoring from Kaplan, I have school work, I am in my schools Jazz band which competes all over the US, and I just want to relax. I feel like I wont have time to do anything and it seems like I am throwing my life away with school.
Does anybody else feel this way with school?
I felt that way too. High school wasn't too bad for me. It wasn't until college that I really began to dread school.
Moderation is the key, I think. I took 2 AP classes in my junior year while others I knew took 4 or 5. I joined maybe 2 clubs while some I knew joined 5 or 6. As for extracurriculars, I think it's better to get really involved in a few activities than padding your résumé. Which do you think looks better to admissions officers? You will want to make yourself stand out in some way, and I honestly don't think solely a large number of activities is the answer, especially when thousands of other applicants are doing the same thing. Also, find activities you enjoy, not ones you're doing just because they look good on a sheet of paper.
I was a good student, but I refused to join the rat race. I had a GPA in the 3.6-3.7 range, as opposed to 4.0+. I took the SAT only once, and scored OK, but not great. I didn't get into the school I wanted to go to right away, but instead I was enrolled into a program where if I maintained a certain GPA in junior college I would be guaranteed admission. Two years later, I got admitted. I graduated in Fall 2006 with a BA in English.
So i guess the take-away message here is to make your education a priority, but not to over-burden yourself (which it sounds like you're doing). What I did may not work for everyone, so listen to what your parents have to say. Listen to what your teachers and counselors have to say. And then listen to yourself. Somewhere in there you'll figure out what's best for you.
And you're only 17. You're still young. You'll have the rest of your life to stress out about work, bills, the mortgage, traffic, maintaining a home, kids, and so on. Why start any earlier than you have to?
Anyway, that's my take. I think education is by far the most important component of our society, but what some people demand from kids these days is obscene and just plain wrong IMHO.