Homework. Quizzes. Tests. Projects. Deadlines. ACT scores. These are just a few stressful factors that constantly add pressure on senior year.

High school seniors are constantly challenged with fighting off the pressure of keeping up with their studies, getting the right score for the ACT, scavenging for scholarships, and finding the right colleges for them.

Some seniors have added stress and pressure on them because they may have a job, or be involved in sports.

“I have to close at my job so I don’t get home until like 10:30 p.m. on some days. I pretty much have to clock into work as soon as I get home from school; so, I have to set homework aside until I get home,” said Jasmine Goodson, a senior at Hazelwood Central High School.

Senior baseball player, Kenny Piper, who also attends Central, has to make sure his grades are noticeably well and that he shows off his talents on the field.

“Most students only have to worry about finding a college that they want to go to for academics. Athletes like myself have to look for a college in which we like for academics and that we want to play for. Also, baseball makes demanding AP classes even more challenging than they already are, considering I have much less time to do homework. And due to practice and working out in the off-season, I can’t really make time to go to help sessions after school,” said Piper.

Sleep isn’t really a thing for some seniors. Since most nights consist of homework, they don’t get to go to sleep until around midnight.

Parents even think that their children may be staying up late goofing around when really, they’re just trying to finish a paper that’s due the next day.

“I witnessed my son staying up late doing work on the computer sometimes. I wanted to tell him that he should be in bed; I thought that he was just browsing the internet, but it was actually schoolwork that he was doing. So I had to let him finish,” said Norman Mann, a parent of a senior who graduated Hazelwood Central High School last year.

Procrastination is a bad habit that many seniors possess that is pretty easy to develop. It’s their fourth and last year of high school so they get a bit ahead of themselves by thinking about their futures. They don’t pace themselves and their schoolwork creeps up on them.

Goodson remembers times where she used to put small assignments off to the side, because it wouldn’t take her long to complete them. But the more assignments that she set aside, the bigger the pile of work she made for herself.

“I used to tell myself that I’d just do it tomorrow, but then I’ll say the same thing when ‘tomorrow’ came. I had to stop procrastinating to stop making things harder for myself,” she said.

Mr. Murray, a teacher at Hazelwood Central High School, has witnessed many students who were successful and many students who set themselves up for failure.

“Time management is number one. If students pace themselves and stay focused, they’ll relieve a lot of stress,” said Murray.

Mr. Quigley, another teacher at Hazelwood Central, preaches about staying organized.

“Some students like to take AP classes and those types of classes can really pile up on you if you’re not careful. Taking things one at a time and staying organized will relieve a lot of the stress off your shoulders. Even I tend to get unorganized and have papers scattered all over the place; so it’s a pretty easy trap to fall into, but it takes some practice,” said Quigley.

As long as students prioritize, they’ll reduce their workload and their stress would be less overwhelming. For those students who don’t have jobs or participate in sports or don’t procrastinate have it easier than those who do, but they still have to do the work required to set themselves up for success and get into their desired college.

“The pressure will always be there no matter what,” said Murray.